Why We Pray Without Ceasing
The Daniel Story
Introduction: For nearly a year we have been digging into the theme of prayer. We have examined some of the basic principles regarding the power of prayer. We took the Lord’s Prayer apart phrase by phrase. We looked deep into some of the places the Lord takes those who devote themselves to prayer. This will be our last excursion into this particular study of prayer. I guarantee we will be back.
In this last message of the year on prayer, I want to explore what may well be one of the most important principles regarding prayer. Paul taught his readers to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). What does that mean? Some have taken it to mean that a believer ought always be in an attitude of prayer. I am not convinced that this is the point. First, I am not sure I know what an attitude of prayer is. I know what an attitude of faith or dependence on God might be. I understand the concept of humble submission to the will of God. I do believe the Bible calls us to live each moment with the awareness of God’s presence. Yet none of this is the same as praying.
Clearly Jesus was in constant communion with the Father. The Father’s will was his will. Perfect faith, humility, and submission were hallmarks of his earthly life. Yet Jesus sought special time alone to pray. There were times when he was praying and times he wasn’t.
I seriously doubt that anyone can actually pray all of the time without ever stopping. The only way that can happen is to redefine prayer from actually talking to God to thinking about talking to God. I am convinced that real serious prayer requires focus and concentration. If we think of praying without ceasing as non-stop praying, we run the danger of never actually praying at all. When we think we have never stopped praying, we probably have never actually started!
I think the call to pray without ceasing is closer to what Jesus taught his disciples. He told them “to pray and not give up” (Lk 18:1). This kind of praying is not necessarily 24/7. But it is tenacious. It keeps coming back to the Father again and again with the same concern as long as that concern seems unresolved. The opposite is to pray and quit. A quest for instant gratification will always be in conflict with prayer. Asking once, forgetting about it, and going on to something else is not Jesus’ idea of prayer. For a very good reason!
Our goal in praying maybe to get what we want. God’s goal is to get us! To get us to know him better, to trust him more, to obey him more completely, to love him more deeply! Prayer is not about what we want and how to get God to give it to us. Prayer is about knowing the God who already knows our needs, discovering his will, and aligning ourselves with that. Prayer is about relying on him 24/7. God knows that sometimes the best way to accomplish his goal for prayer is to prolong the answer to our requests.
Some people have learned well the lessons of patient (without fainting) prayer. Others of us still don’t get it. What’s the difference? What do some valiant pray-ers know that the rest of need to learn? What habit patterns build strong prayer lives? What life lessons grow powerful prayer lives? I want to take you to what is fast becoming one of my favorite Old Testament books for some answers. The Daniel story is a lesson in prayer that refuses to quit.
Daniel was a young Jewish boy when the Babylonians over ran the capital of nearly six hundred years before the time of Jesus. Daniel and a number of his colleagues were taken captive so they could be trained as a young Jewish ruling class who would be loyal to the foreign captors once the occupation was complete. The book of Daniel tells the adventures of Daniel and his friends during this period of captivity and education in Babylon. The book emphasizes a series of dreams interpreted by Daniel for the pagan kings and visions given directly to Daniel about the future of God’s Chosen People.
Before we get to Daniel and prayer, I want to call your attention to three of the most significant passages in the book. Daniel is a striking book. Unbelievers and skeptics must deal with it because of its profound and uncompromising predictions about the Messiah. First, Daniel 7:13-14 is probably the origin of the most commonly used term by Jesus for himself. When Jesus called himself the Son of Man and used the term in his teachings about the second coming (“For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” – Matt 24:27), he had this passage in mind:
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Dan. 7:13-14)
In Daniel, the Son of Man was human-like messenger from Heaven who possessed all the power and authority of God himself.
Daniel not only foresaw the coming of the Messiah, he prophesied the rise and fall of Israel’s enemies. In chapter 2 (nearly 600 hundred years before the time of Jesus), he tells of the fall of Babylon, the rise and fall of Persia, the rise and fall of the Greek kingdom, and the rise and fall of the Roman empire—the last four hundred years yet into the future. All of these puny human realms would eventually bow to the Kingdom of God that would last forever.
But perhaps the most graphic of Daniel’s prophecies is his vision of the “weeks.” In unusual detail, Daniel predicts the coming of the Messiah and the timing.
“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. (Dan. 9:24-26).
If, as most Bible scholars believe, the “sevens” (weeks, in some translations) refer to years, then a period of 483 years are to pass between the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the coming of the Anointed One (Messiah). Depending on the assumptions one makes, this prediction precisely dates the coming and ministry of Jesus to the year. If you start with the edict to rebuild Jerusalem issued in 444 BC, translate the 483 years into the lunar calendar used by the Hebrews, add the resulting number (about 476), you end up with a date of AD 32-33—the exact time of the culmination of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Coincidence? I think not! This is quite remarkable!
But the most outstanding quality of Daniel’s life was not his prophetic powers but his absolute devotion to prayer. He not only prayed, he prayed and didn’t quit. He is a first class example of a man who prayed without ceasing. Consider two examples:
I. Daniel’s enemies became jealous and sought a way to undermine his influence with King Darius. Unable to find a flaw in his character, they decided to use his faith against him. They convinced Darius to outlaw praying to anything except the throne of the king. The penalty for disobedience would be death in a den of hungry lions.
Daniel 6:10-11: Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.
Even the threat of death could not make Daniel stop praying. He refused to quit. As a result, God honored his faith and delivered him from the lion’s den.
II. Later Daniel was reading the Scriptures and learned of Jeremiah’s prediction that Israel would be released from Babylonian bondage after seventy years. Once he knew that this was the promise of God through the prophet, he began to pray for its speedy fulfillment. He knew that the secret to effective praying was knowing God’s will and plans. He knew that the key to the timely fulfillment of God’s plans was the prayers of his people. Prayer is not about overcoming God’s reluctance and forcing him to do our will. Prayer is about seeking God’s will with all our heart, and once discovering it, praying for its completion. Much of God’s will awaits the praying of his people! We mistakenly think that there is nothing we can do to influence the will of God. Whatever will, will be! That’s pagan Stoicism, not biblical faith. Scripture teaches that God’s will, particularly his timing, is somehow inseparately linked to prayer. We are not asked to fully understand it, just believe it and prayer accordingly! Listen to Daniel 9:
1In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom—2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.4I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:
“O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, 5we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
Daniel continues his prayer of repentance for the shameful behavior of his forefathers that resulted in the judgement of God. He makes no excuses. He never complains that the hard times were undeserved. He simply calls upon the Righteous God to now fulfill all of his promises about the future of his people. He concludes his prayer:
17“Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”
What happens next is a bold affirmation of the power of prayer and its place in the plan of God:
20While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill—21while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and under-standing. 23As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed.
The very next verse begins the most remarkable prophecy in the book, the vision of the Weeks which we spoke of earlier! Daniel prayed. God answered. The answer was far more than Daniel had bargained for. It provided a glimpse of the ultimate future God had in store for Israel.
Note verse 23! As soon as Daniel began to pray, God’s answer was given. But three weeks had passed between the beginning of Daniel’s praying and appearance of Gabriel. Yet the answer was given when he started to pray! A part of the explanation for the timing comes in the next chapter. Daniel explains his praying and fasting as he sought to understand the will and plans of God.
2At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. 3I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.
4On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. 6His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
The angel explains the twenty-one day delay.
“Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”
Daniel’s praying was not just about getting what he wanted when he wanted. He was but one player in a huge spiritual battle being fought in the heavenlies. Somehow in ways we do not fully understand, our prayers are necessary for the completion of the angelic duties and the bringing of the answer that God’s intends all along. Far more is at stake when we give up and stop praying than we may realize.
Perhaps this is what Paul is talking about when he speaks of spiritual battles and the role of prayer:
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. . . . And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Eph. 6:10-20)
Conclusion: Daniel was a powerful man of prayer. Most of all, he refused to quit praying. He prayed when faced with persecution. He prayed when he knew God’s will but not God’s timing. He prayed when he understood God’s promised timing and longed for its fulfillment. Daniel through his praying affected the direction of history. So can you!
What did Daniel know that we don’t? Or maybe, what did Daniel remember that we forget? I think it is the foundation of his praying. It is actually the theme of the entire book of Daniel.
Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning. (2:20-21)
Later Nebuchadnezzar, the arrogant and powerful Babylonian king, would learn the same lesson the hard way. After an encounter with the power of God, Nebuchadnezzar declares:
Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: “What have you done?” (4:34-35)
If we know and remember this (that the God to whom we pray is the Ruler of the Universe), we are more likely to pray and not quit. What did Daniel know? He knew who he was praying to! He knew the power of God! He knew that God was the sovereign of the universe. When you are convinced of that, there is no reason to quit praying. Our prayers will be answered by the sovereign God of the universe. It is only a matter of time. Answered prayer is not an “if”; it’s a “when.” Therefore, we pray and don’t quit!
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
