Topic: Praying Ceaselessly
Text: James 4:1-4

The School of prayer is one from which you will never graduate. There are depths of prayers which we will never reach until we see the Lord face to face in glory. Prayer is a mystery. The more you pray the more knowledge you need to acquire concerning how to pray. Prayer is a ministry. It is not a spiritual exercise, which you can carry out mechanically. The Bible teaches us a lot of deep truths concerning the basis of effective prayer. Let us meditate on some of these deep scriptures. I Thess. 5:17 is very pungent and instructive. In this verse are just three words that are, however, heavily loaded. Why does God want us to pray without ceasing? Why is it that God has given us this rather heavy task? This is for several reasons. James 4:2 says: “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” Luke 11:9-10 says, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Why must you ask before God gives you what He knows you need? This is because God knows that human being is very dangerous. If you give them something they did not ask for, they will turn around and blame you for it. God learnt this very early in human history. When God asked Adam why he disobeyed Him, he said it was the woman God gave him that caused him to sin. He was invariably saying he did not ask God for a woman. He was saying that when he was alone, he did not offend God. From that day, God decided that human beings would not get anything from Him unless they ask for it. If you have asked and you have not received, all you need to do is to press forward. God is a faithful God. He said when you ask you will receive. This is a settled matter. His word is forever settled in Heaven. Have you prayed concerning anything and the answer has not come? Do not stop. Persist in prayer. Your miracle is on the way.

Memory Verse: Ephesians 6:18 - “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”