Date: 06-07-25
Preacher: Ps Joseph Tan
Title: Pray without ceasing

Pray without ceasing

The biblical reference for this morning’s message is taken from 1 Thes 5:16-18. Read on to find out how Ps Joseph Tan revealed a ‘hidden’ message from this often quoted reference for the annual church theme.

Ps Joseph, in his lead-in remarked that in our journey of faith as believers, prayer must be the item that we know most of but do the least. We only tend to do it when our spiritual life dries out. 

He pointed out that prayer is the breathing of the soul. That certainly says it all, doesn’t it?

He then shared 3 points on the annual theme of pray without ceasing. The first is Consciousness of Being in God. This is in reference to His presence. As believers we should know that we cannot escape from His omnipresence but we should also know He lives in us. He drew a secular parallel between our conscious thought of the person we think most about when we are in love.

The second is Connection in Walking with God. This is with reference to our way of life; an awareness to want to connect with Him. He pointed out that our search for data roaming in our overseas travels should indicate our same longing for God. He then challenged the congregation to note the number of times we reach out to our handphones on a daily basis as compared to the number of times we pray. Ps Joseph then gave a practical way we can connect with Him on a daily basis and that is to reach out to Him to leave our worldly frustrations outside the doorstep before we enter our homes after a day at work and to pray to God to empower us on a new day before we start our work or school. 

The final point is Confidence in Working with God. This has to know the heart of God, to work and labour with Him. Ps Joseph then gave his personal anecdote on his stint in Palau with his wife, working in a broadcast station to bring the message of God to countries in the Asia Pacific region. He also was part of the local church there and he saw how powerfully the Spirit move the local congregation after 3 years.

Before concluding Ps Joseph told the congregation that ‘pray without ceasing’ in the biblical reference is sandwiched between verse 16 - ‘Rejoice always’, and verse 18 ‘in everything give thanks’. He then said that we have to pray unceasingly first before we can rejoice always and in everything give thanks. I felt that was the best context someone has given to this biblical reference thus far.

Then he concluded by this slide
‘Let us abide in God, walk with God, work with God; rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, giving thanks in all things; glorifying the name of the Lord in all our life!’