We read in I Thessalonians 5:17 that the Thessalonians were command to "Pray without ceasing."

The idea of this verse is that the Thessalonians were expected to persist in seeking God as they endured affliction. However, they prayed amid affliction not because it was a good psychological ploy which helped them cope with the hurts inflicted by wicked men, but because they believed God wanted to and actually was able to help them in their distress, no matter what the situation might look like for a time.

They believed in what is true about what God had done for them in the past, was doing in the present and would do on that glorious day when He returns to gather them to Himself. Therefore, they fled to God and poured out their concerns to Him who worked in them and controlled the events in the world to do His good will.

At this point we should add a few words about patience, which is a companion to an attitude of trust. God answers His people in His great way. God also answers His people in His wise time. A person who prays could ask, "When will the person for whom I have prayed so long become saved? How long will I have to struggle with this problem?" God does not reveal His timing as He works out the perfect answer to His peoples' prayers. So they must pray and wait, believing that God has heard them as He has promised and will work things out for the best. Waiting does not mean that they are idle. They must continue to pray and serve God as He reveals His will in the Bible (John 15:7,8). However, they do not continue to pray or serve God as if they have to get His attention or impress Him so that He will be moved to act on their behalf. Rather, they pray because they speak to God whom they love and trust, expecting that all things will work out for good (Rom. 8:28).

Prayer begins with a heart that believes the Bible, which states that Jesus has cleared the way to the Father and that in Jesus' name sinners can go boldly to the throne of grace (Rom. 5:10, John 14:13,14; 15:16). Prayer continues with a heart that is confident in the Bible, which states that saved sinners are welcomed by God into His presence and that He does all things well for their benefit, in His great way and time (Heb. 4:16, 11:6).

What is Prayer? 

• Prayer is half of a conversation with God. God talks to His people through the Bible. God's people talk to Him through prayer. Therefore, prayer is one half of a heavenly conversation between God and His people. This fact is the basis for understanding prayer. Although prayer is talking to God, it is a different than the normal conversation between two people.
• Our prayers are not just casual and polite conversation. We are not just passing the time of day with idle chitchat or small talk until we find something better to do. Further, the conversation is not between equals. Prayer is what a creature says to his Creator...the conversation is between a sinner and a Holy God. Even people who are saved have bodies that lust after sin with which they struggle all their lives, including the times they go to God in prayer. And yet, these realities do not discourage God's people. Instead, believers are motivated to talk to God for many reasons. They believe that He is listening (Psalm 66:19). They believe that He understands them (Heb. 2:11-14, 4:15,16). They believe that He really can do something about their concerns if He wants to (Psalm 115:3, 135:6, Matt. 8:2). They believe that He cares about every detail of their lives (Matt. 10:30,31) and is always willing to do the best for His children (Luke 12:29-32, Eph. 1:5).
• Some wrong ideas about prayer. Unfortunately, many people have wrong notions about prayer. When people ignore or misunderstand what the Bible says about prayer, when people base their thinking upon superstition, mysticism or some other human philosophy, they will either stop praying altogether or not pray as God desires. Therefore, it is important that we consider and set aside some wrong ideas of prayer.
• Prayer itself does not have supernatural power. All power is in God. He is the supreme Sovereign. He has the wisdom and power to do always what He pleases, no matter what anyone says in prayer. Therefore, we must not think that prayers have the ability in themselves to change circumstances.
  • Prayers themselves do not change anything. God alone does.
  • Prayer is not some mysterious ritual by which the person who prays gains entrance into a holier state. We must not think that prayer is equal to a magic incantation or an entrancing mantra by which the person who prays elevates himself to a higher consciousness.
  • Prayers themselves do not make the people who pray righteous.
  • Prayers themselves do not change the hearts and souls of the people who pray. God alone does.
  • Prayer is not a religious activity which especially impresses God. For one thing, when people pray, they must not think that they are doing God a favor. God does not need their prayers. They need to pray. When people pray, they must not be full of self-congratulation for the effort, as if their prayers gain for them some credit or merit. When people seek the praise of men for their prayer, that is all they will receive (Matt 6:5).
  • And even more perilous, when people seek the favor of God for their prayer, they are practicing a gospel of works. We should also mention that many people hold to the view that prayer has little real value. For them, prayer seems like a weak thing to do, sort of a last resort to be tried when nothing else works. That distortion springs out of hearts that are self-confident and earthly centered rather than God-confident and heavenly centered.
  • Remember, prayer is talking to God Almighty. We should not expect a man's words to have any special power or value. And they do not. Also, we should expect God alone to have all the wisdom and power needed to meet the needs of those who pray. And He does. Because people are sinners, ego, self-centeredness, worldly desire and a trust in self are closely bound to their minds and hearts and distort their view of prayer.
  • Put aside any man-centered or earthly ideas of prayer in our attempt to think about prayer as accurately and clearly as possible. 3. The right heart attitude in prayer When we pray, what we think in the deepest part of our hearts, about God, about ourselves and about other people, is more important than what we say to God and is more important than how we say it. As in all that we do in our lives, including as we seek to pray, a check of our motives ought to come before a check of our actions. The reason is that why we do something is more important than what we do. If we pray with the right heart attitude, then we can be sure that we are praying as God wants and that He will hear us (Jer. 29:12,13).
  • Look at the heart's attitudes towards love, humbleness and faith. Love Prayer is rooted in love, God's love for His people and their love in response to Him (Psalm 116:1,2, Eph. 2:4,5,18, I John 4:19). Before someone is saved, he is God's enemy. He is headed for hell and deserves the wrath that is certain to descend upon all unbelievers at the end of time. Fear and hatred grip the hearts of all people who are faced with the reality of such a destiny. But the hearts of God's people beat with a different emotion. They have a love that was given to them when they were saved, a love for Him who would not even spare His own Son in order to rescue them from hell.
  • Prayer is sustained by a heart that loves God, for all that He is and all that He has done to and for sinners (John 3:16, Rom. 5:8, 8:32). The bond of love between God and His people explains a lot about the nature of prayer. Let us see how this is so by asking the following questions, "How would you feel if someone you thought was your friend never showed any interest in talking to you nor cared much to hear what you had to say? What kind of a relationship would that be? In fact, would that person really be behaving as your friend at all?" That kind of freindship certainly would not be a relationship based upon love.
  • Two-way conversation is expected between people who claim to care for each other. Similarly, conversation is expected between God and someone who claims to be His friend (John 15:13-15, James 2:23). This dialogue is expected. In fact, it is necessary for maintaining a strong and growing bond of loving friendship. If we see prayer from the rather simple point of view that it is part of a conversation between friends, then we can be more comfortable as we approach God.
  • When we wonder about prayer, we must understand that we are not called to seek the secret to some mysterious rite. Rather we believers are called to speak to God as we would to someone who loves to hear what we have to say because He loves us. Whatever we want to say, whenever we want to say it, God delights to hear. Amazing! Humbleness People are creatures, totally dependent creatures, who exist and continue to live only because God made and sustains them. It is amazing that the dust of the earth can have a conversation with God who is Almighty God (Genesis 2:7, Job 10:9, 21:15).
  • A person who prays must pray humbly before such an Almighty Creator (Rev. 4:11, 5:12), always recognizing who he is and who God is. Not only are people creatures, but also they are wicked, rebellious creatures. The fact that God wants sinners to speak to Him is grace. Their prayers should fall back upon them as dead leaves which blow in the wind. Joyfully, that is not what happens. The wonder of God is that He hears the cry of a penitent sinner (Luke 18:13,14).
  • A man who prays must be humbly honest about himself (I John 1:8,9). People must pray to God with an appropriate humbleness based upon a recognition that they are creatures. They are dependent upon the wisdom and power of God to whom they talk. People must pray with an appropriate contriteness based upon a recognition that they are sinful creatures. Before they are saved they deserve condemnation. After they are saved they continue to struggle with the sinful desires of their bodies. They are limited both in body and mind. They are physically and spiritually weak. They are dependent upon the mercy and grace of God to whom they pray (Isaiah 57:15). Therefore, humbleness is a necessary companion to prayer.
  • The proper understanding of the idea of sacrifice is that prayer is part of the reasonable service all believers are expected to give to God (Rom. 12:1,2). Faith Luke 18:1-8 is an interesting and helpful passage as we think about prayer. We will not analyze this parable but the conclusion, phrased in the form of a question, helps us understand God's command to pray. Jesus began to teach about prayer with a parable and ended with a question on faith. The conclusion is that faith is the basis for prayer. The reason is that there is no sense in praying to someone for help if we do not expect them to help. After all,why pray if we think they do not care or because we do not believe that they can do anything, even if they wanted to? We must be like the woman in Jesus' parable.
  • We must trust God to be our defender. We must trust Him to be willing and able to help us in time of need.