A Biblical Guide to Prayer - Part 6
Questions about Prayer – Part 3
· When should I pray?
We see examples of prayer occurring at different times. God does not prescribe for us a particular time during the day to pray. He does however command us to pray continually.
Morning prayer
Psalm 119:147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Thy words.
Mark 1:35 And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there.
Noon
Acts 10:9 And on the next day, as they were on their way, and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
Afternoon
Acts 10:3 About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in to him, and said to him, "Cornelius!"
Evening
Genesis 24:63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming.
Matthew 14:23 And after He had sent the multitudes away, He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.
Three times a day
Psalm 55:17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice.
Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.
Nighttime
Psalm 119:55 O Lord, I remember Thy name in the night, and keep Thy law.
All night
Luke 6:12 And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
Midnight
Psalm 119:62 At midnight I shall rise to give thanks to Thee Because of Thy righteous ordinances.
Acts 16:25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
Spontaneously
Nehemiah 2:4 Then the king said to me, "What would you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Continually
1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing;
· How do we pray without ceasing?
The word “ceasing” is the word “incessantly” or “continuously”. It does not mean to pray repetitiously, saying the same thing over and over and over; nor does it mean to pray without ever taking a break (as if we were to be on our knees twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week). The word “without” is not even in the original Greek text. So this verse (1 Thes. 5:17) is telling us to pray continually and this is consistent with the rest of Scripture. Scripture teaches us that we are to pray regularly (see previous question) and persistently (Luke 11:5-13; 18:1-8). Thus, prayer should be a normal part of our daily life and we should persist in it.
When we realize that through Christ we have been restored to fellowship with God and as a result have communion with Him we can begin to understand the meaning to pray without ceasing. We are in fellowship with Him all day long if we are in Christ and we should live with an attitude of prayer. As things happen throughout the day we can continually lift up praises, supplications, petitions, and intercessions to Him. We are not limited to a particular time during the day that He is only available. Prayer should never be viewed as a segment of our life but as unending communion with the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit. Praise God that we can commune with Him all day long!
By God's Grace ~ Through God's Word ~ For God's Glory!
Chuck Long
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