Pray Without Ceasing

by Terry Shanahan, Northeast Regional Minister

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18)

Last month many FORESEE articles were focused on our irreducible core of “Loving God, Loving Others and Making Disciples.” Clearly these are Jesus’ instructions to us, and out of obedience we must be a people who follows His commands. It is in further obedience that as Christ-followers we must be a people of prayer. Our number one guiding value in the CCCC is “A culture of believing prayer and intercession.” Jesus not only instructs us in prayer but He models it. As followers of Jesus it is clear we would be disobedient if we didn’t instruct and model prayer as well.

The premise of Lloyd John Ogilvie’s book, Intimate Prayer, is that intimate prayer is a conversation with God. Conversations grow out of relationship, and the deeper the relationship, the deeper the conversation. Our conversation with God grows out of His love for us, and our loving Him with all of our mind, body, soul and strength. The deeper we grow in relationship to Christ, the deeper our conversation with Him will be.

In the fall 2014 publication of Leadership Journal, Max Lucado reinforces this when he says, “A prayer is simply an honest conversation with God. A good prayer creates a sense of communion between the one who prays and the one who hears the prayer. At our core, we are afraid of being left alone. Ever since Adam and Eve hid in the bush we have all battled with this sense of distance between us and God. So a good prayer reestablishes a sense of communion with God. We know we are not alone.” In a loving, intimate relationship with God we can share our hearts in prayer.

Our irreducible core, “Loving God, Loving Others and Making Disciples,” is hollow without believing prayer and intercession. We pray in belief that we have a loving God who not only hears our prayers but answers them. At the core of our intercession is our heartfelt love for the lost, and we know with assurance that we can intercede for others and for His Kingdom. With an anguish that can only come from God’s love for us we can storm the gates of Heaven with our prayers for our friends, co-workers and family who do not know Him.

As our number one guiding value, believing prayer and intercession is at the core of “Loving God, Loving Others and Making Disciples.”