Practical Ways to Fulfill a Biblical Command

By Dennis Conner

You might relate to my initial reaction to the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). At 26, I was a baby Christian, but a “Bible-hungry adult.” My first reading of this verse created an immediate mental picture of quitting my college coaching job and entering the nearest monastery—or simply excusing Paul for forgetting that I’m not in a full-time ministry like he was. I certainly had more things to do besides pray all day!

This “pray without ceasing” statement bothered me for many years. No matter how hard I tried, I felt wedged between a desire to be fully obedient to this prayer principle in God’s Word and the pragmatic principle of living out everyday responsibilities as a husband, father, university employee (and later as a ministry staffer). I wanted to be known as a true disciple of Jesus Christ, but I was not sure how to live up to Paul’s admonishment.

A few years ago—I am a slow learner—the Holy Spirit began to show me how I could easily fulfill this prayer command in a practical way. I’ve always been motivated by the “practicality” of Scripture, ways to apply the Word to everyday living. And I’m excited that the Spirit is expanding my “pray without ceasing” vocabulary and frequency year by year!

Hitting the Target

In 2007, I was exercise-walking in my Richardson, TX, neighborhood and decided I needed to be redeeming the time better (spiritually speaking). I began to pray a simple blessing over every house I passed while walking my daily three-mile course.

After several days—because I didn’t know what the residents needed most—I began to seek the Lord about more specific prayers I could pray that would “hit the bull’s-eye” as I targeted each home in prayer.

I wanted to pray an evangelistic or discipleship-type prayer for each resident or house, but I did not know the people who lived in these homes or which prayer fit. Suddenly the Holy Spirit, who promises to lead us when we don’t know exactly what to pray (Rom. 8:26–27), prompted me to pray a “SAFE” prayer. He assured me, “Dennis, if you pray in this way, I promise you will not miss the spiritual target God has for the people who live in any home. You will hit the bull’s-eye every time!”

Powerful Walk-by SAFE Prayers

The acronym SAFE stands for: Spiritual Awakening/Fresh Encounter. Since I did not know if the people in these homes were lost, without any relationship to Jesus Christ—or perhaps Christians who had unintentionally drifted away from the Lord through daily-living distractions or even committed believers —this one simple prayer-declaration covered any situation.

I now verbalize this prayer as: “SAFE prayer, Lord, in Jesus’ name!” With that brief but powerful declarative statement, I know that the Holy Spirit will apply it exactly as the people need it. He may bring someone or some circumstance into the life of the lost person to lead him or her to personally repent and receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (Spiritual Awakening). Or He may convict the “lukewarm” Christian to repent and renew the “first love” fellowship with Jesus Christ (Fresh Encounter). Or He may help committed believers to deepen their faith through a fresh encounter with Him.

Beyond that initial walk-by SAFE praying experience, I now likewise pray the SAFE prayer for so many people I encounter during my day:

• Other drivers on the road (especially reckless ones)
• A group of athletes practicing on a nearby sports field
• Individuals crossing the street at an intersection or walking along a sidewalk
• First responders as they pass me on the road
• Construction workers (buildings, homes, roadways)
• People sitting in airport restaurants or standing in line to board a plane
• Mall shoppers and retail-store employees.

The prospective recipients for such prayer blessings are unlimited! I promise, if you ask the Lord to help you become a “pray-without-ceasing” Christian, He will answer you. That is exactly what He wants, and it is in His nature to equip us to do exactly what He asks of us.

Drive-by Praying

The Holy Spirit continues to give me other prayer declarations to verbalize as I am driving by such places as:

• Churches: “House of Prayer, in Jesus Name, may God’s glory fall on you and His Presence fill the temple!” I believe Jesus expects all Christian churches to be a house of prayer as He emphatically declared about the temple in three of the four Gospels (Matt. 21:13, Mark 11:17, Luke 19:46).
• Schools: “Education with Revelation!” (Rom. 12:2). I pray that through the Holy Spirit’s leadership, the students will somehow be introduced to Jesus Christ as they are being educated academically. May their minds be renewed with the truths of Christ.
• Hospitals: “Revealing while Healing!” (John 11:40–45). I pray for patients (as well as doctors, staff, and administrators) to encounter the Lord while also experiencing or facilitating His physical healing.
• Retail Stores: “Prosperity with Integrity!” (Ps. 78:72). I pray for a financial blessing upon the businesses, in relation to the integrity of their business practices.
• Government Offices: “Servant Leadership!” (Matt. 20:26–28). I pray that the office holders and their staff will govern and lead their constituents with the same humble heart that Jesus modeled for His disciples.
• Health/Fitness Centers: “Fitness with a Witness!” (1 Tim. 4:8). I pray that during their fitness workouts, the Lord will give Christians an opportunity to share their faith in Jesus Christ with an employee or with others exercising alongside them.

Perhaps the Holy Spirit has prompted you to “pray without ceasing” in other ways. But for me, these brief but biblically based prayers have resolved my earlier dilemma of thinking the Apostle Paul’s command unattainable.

The pragmatic application of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 has never been easier, thanks to the ministry of the Holy Spirit’s prayer promptings. If we listen closely, He will expand our prayer vocabulary and frequency.

Whatever He prompts us to pray at various times throughout the day may be prompts to “prime the pump” for prayers that do not cease!

DENNIS CONNER and his wife Betty Jo are “prayer coaches” for pastors and churches through their ministry Called to Serve (bahop.org). They are members of the National Prayer Committee and representatives for the Church Prayer Leaders Network.