They addressed one theological question every month. Interestingly, in the 19th century, a group of men headed up by John Newton met once a month for theological discussions. But when we start to backslide and grow lukewarm, those spontaneous prayers begin to diminish, and we fall away from this lifestyle of prayer that involves praying without ceasing. When we're not backsliding as Christians, we're living close to God, and this kind of prayer life is spontaneous. Lord, help me avoid temptation here in this situation. Lord, help me with this next task I have to do. Many prayers will be what the old forefathers called spontaneous prayers that go up in little darts and phrases up to God. But it's your way through the day as you move along in the day. Praying without ceasing is about developing a lifestyle of prayer so that you don't just get up in the morning and have a planned time of 10 to 20 minutes and then you don't pray again until the evening. To pray without ceasing does not mean you've got to pray 24/7 and feel guilty for every second you're not praying. Praying without ceasing, which is actually in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, I believe, is a beautiful text but also one that's often misunderstood. The following is a transcript of the video above with Joel Beeke: Do not despise prophecies, but test everything hold fast what is good. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Here is the surrounding text to see this phrase in its biblical context: This well-known Bible phrase comes from Apostle Paul's epistle to the Thessalonians. Wow, it sounds impossible to do, doesn't it? Does this Bible verse mean that God expects us to pray 24/7? Let's look at other Bible translations of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and discover how we can apply this to our prayer lives today. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." ( 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 KJV)
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