There is one verse that many believers quietly skip because it sounds impossible.

"Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17, KJV).

One translation puts it even more plainly: "Never stop praying" (NLT).

When you read that, the first question that comes up is honest: can anybody really do this? We have jobs. We have families. We cook, we drive, we sleep. Is Paul asking people to kneel in a corner all day?

God Doesn't Give Impossible Instructions

Think about who Paul was writing to. The church in Thessalonica had all kinds of believers in it. Some were mature, some were young in the faith. Why would he tell all of them to do something that couldn't be done and make the Christian life look like a burden?

He wouldn't, because this is not just Paul's opinion. It doesn't matter whether a book of the Bible was written by Moses, Peter or Paul. It is the Word of God, and everything in it is true. God permitted this verse to be written, which makes it His instruction to you.

And God is not in the business of setting His children up to fail. "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able" (1 Corinthians 10:13, KJV). The same faithful God who knows your limits is the One telling you to pray without ceasing. So it must be possible.

Notice the word, too. "Without ceasing" means continuously, not continually. Continually is something you do now, then again in three hours. Continuously means nonstop. The line doesn't go dead.

So how? First, we need to take the mystery out of prayer.

What Prayer Really Is

Every human being, Christian or not, is a spirit, has a mind and lives in a body. For the Christian, that spirit is joined to God. "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:17, KJV). That means you can receive from God at any time, if your mind is open and sensitive to what the Spirit of God is saying.

At its simplest, prayer is communication with God. And communication is always an exchange: an action and a response.

Think of a computer. When you strike a key on the keyboard, a command goes to the processor and information comes back. Prayer works like that. There is always a cause and an effect.

That is true even when we are not speaking to God directly. When we cast out a demon, we speak, and the demon leaves. When we speak to sickness, the sickness goes. When we worship and declare who God is, something responds too. But it isn't God who moves; He has already done everything that needs to be done. We are the ones who change. Worship sets in motion what God has already ordered, and it transforms us.

Here is the key. What your spirit receives from God has to pass through your mind, and your mind passes it on to your body to act. So praying without ceasing is a constant connection between your spirit, your mind and your body and God. It is a lifestyle of being God-minded and receiving from Him on the go.

It's like a phone you've decided must stay online at all times. At no point should the data be switched off.

Five Ways to Keep the Line Open

Once you see prayer as connection, praying without ceasing stops being a marathon and becomes a way of living. Here are five ways that connection stays on through your day.

1. Devotional prayer

There are times you set aside on purpose, maybe ten minutes, maybe two hours, to pray about specific things. This is a discipline and a habit, and you need it.

But your prayer doesn't end when that time ends. Every time you pray, something changes in you, whether you feel it or not. "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost" (Jude 1:20, KJV). You finish your devotion, walk into the bathroom and keep praying in the Holy Ghost as you get ready. You haven't stopped.

2. Study

Whenever you study any book, there is an exchange. You ask questions, and the book answers them. When the book is the Word of God, you are interacting with God Himself.

The action is taking in the Word. The response is God renewing your mind. "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2, KJV). As we behold Him, "we all... are changed into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18, KJV).

3. Meditation

Study is where you take the Word in. Meditation is where you milk it. You chew on it until you've broken it into pieces you can live out.

Say you read John 3:3 in the morning: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (KJV). As you get dressed, you think, I'm born again, so I can see the kingdom. But what is the kingdom? Then you remember: "the kingdom of God is... righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Romans 14:17, KJV). Righteousness? That's a gift I've already received (Romans 5:17). Peace? The Prince of Peace lives in me.

You can do this washing dishes, at your desk or walking down the road. In the car, you can play a message from a minister you trust. You can put on worship music, and as you sing about how beautiful the name of Jesus is, your thoughts come under His authority, "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5, KJV). Fear and worry have no room in that moment.

Even talking about the Word with other believers is a form of this, because "the Word was God" (John 1:1, KJV). When you exchange the Word, you are exchanging with Him.

4. Conversation with the Holy Spirit

This is the one many believers miss. Prayer is not only petition, worship and praise. The Holy Spirit wants to talk with you.

He is God with us on earth, and He relates with the people He loves like a person who understands everything. He was there this morning, so you don't need to explain what happened. He knows you better than your spouse or your parents do, because He is with you in the office, in the bathroom and everywhere in between.

So talk to Him. Even while you're watching TV with your family, keep your mind open. Ask Him, "Do You think this is right?" Let what you watch pass through the lens of His Word. You can literally have chats with the Holy Spirit all day long.

5. Thanksgiving

Keep a heart of gratitude through the day. You finish a meal: "Thank You, Father." You drink water: "Thank You for providing this." "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18, KJV), the very next verse after "pray without ceasing."

If thanksgiving were the only thing you did all day, you'd find yourself praying without ceasing almost by accident, and without stress.

Use What You Have

It has never been easier to stay connected. There are audio Bibles you can play as you fall asleep (I used to do this). There are digital Bibles, audiobooks, sermons you can listen to on the go, Bible verse wallpapers and apps on your phone, Christian TV stations and YouTube channels. The Word of God is all around you. Use it.

Your Takeaway

You don't need to stop living to pray without ceasing. You need to stay connected while you live. Start with this:

1. Keep a daily devotional time, even if it's short, and don't hang up when it ends.
2. Read one passage in the morning and meditate on it through the day.
3. Talk to the Holy Spirit about the small things, not just the big ones.
4. Say "Thank You, Father" after every meal and every win.
5. Fill your idle moments with the Word: an audio Bible, a sermon or worship music.

Your spirit is already joined to God. Keep the line open.

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God bless you,
Michael Adegoke