Without Ceasing

Meditation for the day taken from Everyday Prayer with John Calvin written by Donald McKim:

Scripture: Romans 1:8-15

The passage under consideration today is found within the opening words of Paul's letter to the church at Rome (1:7). As is his custom, he indicates to the church that he is praying for them, and he does so with words of thanksgiving before petition (1:8 cp. with 1:10). That is a good model for us as we pray. So often, we move right to petition and forget to be thankful for the many ways in which the Lord has heard our prayer and answered us and how he has tended to our needs every day—praying prayers of thanksgiving tends to cultivate a genuinely thankful heart.

What is of note in this passage is how Paul prayed without ceasing. That was not an unusual attitude for the apostle (see Eph. 1:16; Phil. 1:4). Elsewhere he commands the church to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). This directive has caused much discussion. What does Paul mean when we tell the churches that he is praying without ceasing or exhorts them to follow his example? Does he expect that we would be engaged in the activity of prayer day and night? Is he not aware that we have other duties given to us providentially throughout the day? What is his point? Calvin writes, "it is to prayer that the saints deliberately devote themselves, even as we see that the Lord himself sought a place of retirement for such a purpose. At the same time, however, Paul denotes the frequency, or rather the continuance, of his habit of prayer by saying that he devoted himself to prayer unceasingly." (90). McKim adds, "Pray without ceasing is an important reminder for us -- all the time. Though our prayers may not always be verbal or explicit, we can maintain an attitude that helps us pray without ceasing. We do this when we keep God and his purposes foremost in our minds and are constantly alert for the needs for whom we pray -- and act."

Therefore, always maintain an attitude of prayer. There will be times in your day (at least there should be) when you will labor in prayer with words expressed with diligence to your Father in heaven. Every Christian should have a carved-out time in their day to pray in that manner. God, in His providence, gives us plenty of those times in our daily routine (E.g., taking a shower, driving a car, doing the dishes, etc.). On the other hand, we should always be ready to pray, learning to cultivate an attitude that is sensitive to the needs of the saints. One of the benefits of the corporate prayer meeting is that you can hear the needs expressed by your brothers and sisters and engage God in prayer throughout the week on those matters. It is difficult to pray for the specific needs of the saints when you do not know those needs. In this passage, Paul prays specifically, and we must do so as well.