95. Unceasing Prayer
R
Hear, O LORD, and answer me....
You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.
Have mercy on me, O LORD,
for I call to you all day long.
Psalm 86:1–3W
HENwe read Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians challenging
them to “pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17), is he calling for
the kind of prayer that creates calloused knees? When we read
David’s words in Psalm 86:3, “I call to you all day long,” is he speak-
ing to God in the kind of prayer that makes us hoarse? No. I believe
that both passages describe a silent, intimate, ongoing dialogue with
our God.
Paul knew that the Christians at Thessalonica had no hope of
making it apart from their prayers and God’s answers. This was why
he encouraged them to learn to pray continually.
David knew that he had no chance of overcoming his enemies
apart from God’s intervention. That’s why he needed unceasing
prayer. David was also aware, no doubt, of his own susceptibility to
sin. So he brought it before the Lord every chance he got.