The Secret to Praying Without Ceasing

Years ago when I started prayerwalking, God showed me that wherever I am, there’s a need for prayer . . . so I began opening up my eyes and praying for what I saw.

Businesses. Local government offices. Schools. Families. And more.

I also became passionate about understanding more about prayer, and as I read through the Bible, I would mark any reference to pray that I noticed. I particularly focused on Jesus’s prayer life and the teachings on prayer in the New Testament.

But there was one verse that bugged me to no end: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).

Pray without ceasing? How was that possible? I was a mom with four kids. I worked full time as a high school English teacher–a job that also required all kinds of extra duty responsibilities. I served my church.

In other words I was hustling all the time. All. The. Time.

How could I remember to stop and pray?

The search for that answer led me to study dozens of volumes of classic works on prayer–books and sermon collections and biographies written about folks such as Charles Spurgeon, Andrew Murray, The Pilgrim, Frank Laubach, Teresa of Avila, Madame Guyon . . . and many others who at one time had written that they “prayed without ceasing.”

I wanted to find the secret to how they figured out how to do that. Actually, what I found was that having a praying lifestyle came differently for each of those people . . . and that was such a relief to me. My prayer life didn’t have to fit into a mold someone else had created. There isn’t one system or method that is The Perfect Praying Solution.

And so, I simply kept doing what God had led me to do: prayerwalking and then praying throughout my day as needs come to mind or eyesight.

If someone I know on Facebook has a need, I pray right then. If someone at church expresses a need, I say, “Let’s pray.” If there’s tough news broadcasted, I pray.

Prayer puts the problem into God’s hands, which is a perfect place for it, as he is the Problem Solver. And partnering with God in prayer is the best possible thing we can do.

And HEY . . . if you’re interested in learning more about my praying-without-ceasing search, perhaps you’d like to get my book, PrayerStreaming: Staying in Touch with God All Day Long. It’s a fascinating look into the prayer life of those classic writers–unlocking the secrets to how they learned to stay in touch with God all day long.

I have copies available through my website and it’s on Amazon too: https://www.amazon.com/PrayerStreaming-Stayin…/…/ref=sr_1_1…

Janet McHenry has been prayerwalking for her community for more than twenty years and is the author of 24 books, including the bestselling PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength and Discipline (WaterBrook/RandomHouse). She loves to speak about how God has transformed her life through a praying lifestyle and may be contacted through her website, https://www.janetmchenry.com.

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