Pray Without Ceasing - Part 2 of 2

The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder LeSaire Bradley, Jr. O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise! Thou the rays of my God and King, thou triumphs of His grace!

This is LeSaire Bradley, Jr. inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace. What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit!

O what needless fame we bear! All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer! What a friend, what a friend we have in Jesus!

Jesus, He takes our sins, takes our griefs and sins and makes them as His own! What a privilege to know, to know that I can carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit!

O what needless fame we bear! It's just a privilege to know, to know that I can carry everything to God in prayer! Everything to God in prayer, in prayer, in prayer, in prayer! I'm glad you're with us today on the first Sunday broadcast of the new year. Hope you'll make it a habit to be with us at this same time each Sunday on this station.

Or it may be that you're going to the website and we're happy to have you as a part of this audience. I do encourage you to write us at Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. And would encourage you also to go to our website at BaptistBibleHour.org.

There you can find both the Sunday and daily broadcasts. You can find the daily devotional and also the Baptist Witness. That's BaptistBibleHour.org. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted.

Who is God except the Lord, who is God except the Lord, one rock beside our God, one higher place He did heavenly? The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. Where shall I be saved?

Shall I be saved from my enemies? The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. So will I give thanks to thee, and sing praises to thy name. Be exalted, Lord, in thy mighty power.

The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. Father, Lord, the Holy Spirit, beg my trembling heart and brow, fill me with thy hallowed presence. Come, O come, and fill me now, fill me now, fill me now. Jesus, come and fill me now, fill me with thy hallowed presence. Come, O come, and fill me now, thou canst fill me, gracious spirit.

Though I cannot tell thee how, but I need thee, praise be, need thee. Come, O come, and fill me now, fill me now, fill me now. Jesus, come and fill me now, fill me with thy hallowed presence. Come, O come, and fill me now.

I am weakness, full of weakness, and thy sacred feet I bow, blessed be my eternal spirit. Fill with power and fill me now, fill me now, fill me now. Jesus, come and fill me now, fill me with thy hallowed presence. Come, O come, and fill me now, cleanse and comfort, blessed and saving. Bathe, O bathe my heart and brow, thou art comforting and saving. Thou art sweetly filling now, fill me now, fill me now. Jesus, come and fill me now, fill me with thy hallowed presence.

Come, O come, and fill me now. I think it appropriate that we have our minds turned toward the importance of prayer here at the beginning of the New Year, so we continue with the message entitled Pray Without Ceasing. The text is 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 17.

Just three words, but oh, they are indeed powerful. Pray without ceasing. This message was delivered at Grace Primitive Baptist Church in Pearl, Mississippi, where Elder David Piles is the pastor. Then there is that lesson that Jesus gave, very similar as to what the conclusion of the lesson is, that Jesus gave in Luke 18, verse 1, He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men are always to pray and not to faint. This is the purpose of the lesson. This is why He gave this, that men are always to pray and not to faint, not to give up.

Have there ever been things you've prayed for for a while and then you got discouraged and you gave up? You quit? Well, this parable says you're not to quit. And here's what it says. The widow makes her appeal to the judge, saying, Avenge me, my adversary.

I need help. And this judge didn't regard man nor fear God, so he could care less about the need of this woman. And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself, though I fear not God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge saith. Now, Jesus says, notice what the unjust judge said.

I'm going to grant her request, lest she weary me by her continual coming. Again, you may say that's kind of a strange way of putting it, but that's the way Jesus presented it, and it's a lesson for us to make practical application of it in our lives. For it says, God and shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry unto him day and night, though he bear long with them. Now, remember, when we pray, we're not praying to an unjust judge. We're not praying to one who cares nothing about it. We're praying to our Heavenly Father.

So why would we not persist and continue in prayer rather than to faint, rather than to give up? And then, fourthly, we pray because the need is great. We sometimes, with some frequency no doubt, sing the hymn, I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord. No tender voice like mine can peace afford. And surely when we sing those words, we mean them.

But it's possible that we've sung that old hymn so many times we kind of slide over the words and don't let it really sink into our hearts. But is it not true that we need him every hour? I need thee every hour. Stay thou nearby. Temptations lose their power when thou art nigh. I need thee every hour in joy or pain.

Come quickly and abide, or life is vain. I need thee every hour, most holy one. Oh, make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son. And of course, I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Every hour I need thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior. I come to thee.

Is that not a burden that we should carry every day that we live? Lord, I need thee. And so therefore, I'm coming to the throne of grace, expressing my need and calling upon thee for the help that I need so desperately. For one thing, we need strength. We need physical strength. We need spiritual strength.

We need strength and courage in many areas of life. I love the promise in Isaiah 40, verse 29. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength. Now you might say, well, there's some promises I just feel like I don't qualify for.

Well, surely we can all qualify for this one. He gives power to the faint, to those who are weak and recognize their weakness, recognize their need. He giveth power to them, to those that have no might, he increases strength.

And then the Apostle Paul said, Philippians 4, 13, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. So you feel you've run the race till you're worn out. You've come to your wits end. You say, I just, I can't handle everything that's coming at me at the present time. The burdens are too heavy.

I'm overwhelmed. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. As long as it's something that's honorable and godly and in keeping with what God has enjoined us to do, those things can be done if we're turning to our God for help.

We need help to resist temptation. The psalmist prayed in Psalm 119, 35, make me to go in the path of thy commandments for therein do I delight. The psalmist wasn't afraid to say, Lord, I want you to take complete charge. I want you to make me go in the right way.

Yes, I'm asking for your blessing to go there, but I'm willing for you just to take total charge and make me to go where I need to go. Verse 37, turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity and quicken thou me in thy way. Well, if you're praying for the Lord to help you overcome temptation and to turn away your eyes from beholding vanity, then there are a lot of things that come on television or that you might see in magazines that you're not going to look at. No need to pray for the Lord to turn away your eyes from beholding vanity and then go right to the source of where you're going to be looking at that which is vain.

We need help. Then in time of temptation, we need help in our times of trouble. Psalm 71, verse one, in thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.

Let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness and cause me to escape. Incline thine ear unto me and save me. Verse three, be thou my strong habitation where unto I may continually resort. Thou has given commandment to save me for thou art my rock and my fortress. Oh, what wonderful words in the time of trial, in the times when we feel to be tossed about and we've just come to the end of our way. I need a strong habitation, a place where I can find safety, a place where I can turn in the time of trouble, a place where I can continually resort. Thou has given commandment to save me. Thou art my rock and my fortress. So the Lord is dependable and we can rest upon him in every situation and circumstance that we encounter.

We need help. We need his direction. Proverbs 35, two says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. You sometimes just make up your mind.

You're going to go a certain route because there are aspects of what you're looking at are appealing to you and you think this is going to give you satisfaction. But you haven't prayed about it. You haven't asked for the Lord's guidance.

You haven't asked if it was his will. And then later you get into a predicament where you say, well, I got myself into this mess and I take God's grace to get me out of it. I've now got to turn to him for help. But I should have turned to him for guidance in the beginning. James 1 5 says, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. We need fellowship with the Lord. 1 John 1 3 says, Our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son, Jesus Christ. If you really have the words of that hymn stamped indelibly on your heart, I need thee, yes, I need thee, every hour I need thee. One of the big concerns you're going to have every day, I want fellowship with the Lord.

I want to feel like I'm near to him, that he's near to me, that I'm enjoying his communion on a day-to-day basis. And God uses our trials to bring us to that point. Trials weight us down.

Trials make us aware of our own weakness. Trials make us know, I can't just go through the formality of prayer. I've got to come earnestly and desperately seeking the Lord, praying for his help. And then furthermore, we are to pray for others. Ephesians 6 18 says, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Well, I can't possibly pray for all saints.

I don't know all saints. Well, you can pray for all the saints you know. You can pray for the Lord to bless some that are in great need that you may not know personally and individually, but you're praying for them.

Nevertheless, watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication. And for me, Paul said, I want you to pray for me that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. That's something that you ought to include always in your prayers. Praying for your pastor in particular, that the Lord will bless him that he may speak the truth and be able to open his mouth boldly, making known the mystery of the gospel.

He says, For which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. So many others to pray for. You pray for your immediate family. Then you pray for your extended family.

You pray for the Lord's blessing on those that you feel like give evidence that they are kids. And then you pray for those that are wandering in darkness that the Lord might recover them. You pray for friends. You pray for friends you have currently.

Pray for friends of the past that you haven't seen for a while. You pray for your church and you pray for other churches. I try always to be praying for the church of which I'm a member, Cincinnati Primitive Baptist Church. But when Sunday morning comes around, I've got a list of at least 15 churches I try to pray for every Sunday. And this is one of them, that God will bless the services in that church that day and bless that pastor to preach with power. And so there's much to be prayed for. Praying for those that are laboring in foreign lands and praying that the gospel may go forth and have free course. And we ought to be praying for those who have the authority over us.

It may well be that you disagree with their policies and have no confidence in their leadership. But you can pray that the Lord will intervene and disrupt the plans of those who are attempting to lead us down the wrong direction. And that the Lord will give us God fearing people to rule over us.

And then as you pray for others, not only can there be an answer as to what God does in their life, but praying for others can become a special blessing to you. A few weeks ago, I was driving on my way to a doctor's appointment and I just got to thinking about old times. And I remembered that when I first came to Cincinnati to preach back in 1952, I came to fill in for a man named BH Hillard, who was pastor of an independent Baptist church. And he was sick.

So I filled in that Sunday and filled in 13 weeks in succession. While he was sick, he got better and served the church for a while and then later died. And after he died, they called me his pastor. And so I was just thinking about those days and thinking about Pastor Hillard. And I began to pray, Lord, if there are any of his descendants still around, I pray you'll bless them.

Just work in their life with your sovereign grace and send a special blessing on them. Well, I arrived at the doctor's office and the lady that checked me in was new. I'd never seen her there before. And after I got checked in for my appointment, she came in the waiting room and said, LaSara Bradley, I am so glad to meet you.

I've heard of you all my life. I am BH Hillard's granddaughter. I said, I was just praying for you on the way in here.

It was on my mind to pray for the descendants of your grandfather. And she said, well, we've got another connection. Said, you know, your wife's mother was the head of labor and delivery at Bethesda Hospital. And at the time my brother was born, Mrs. Messer, my mother-in-law, was handing this little baby out to his mother.

And she had a picture in her phone and pulled it out. I said, yes, that's my mother-in-law, Mrs. Messer. So we had a lot to talk about. And I thought, well, if I hadn't have been praying for that family and praying for that lady, I wouldn't have had that experience. But it was a special joy and a blessed time. And so that kind of encouraged me.

I need to be praying for some others that maybe some unexpected things will happen. So I got to thinking about the church that I served even before I went to Cincinnati, which was a little independent Baptist church back in the hills of Kentucky. And at the best I could remember some of the family names.

I started praying for them. And in a couple of days I got a call from a man. He said, my name is Richard Messer Caskey. He said, I was born just about the time you were leaving Bratton Baptist Church.

And so my mother gave me your name for my middle name. And so I had opportunity to ask him about different families I hadn't heard of in years and enjoyed a good time of fellowship on the telephone. And that encouraged me to do a lot more praying for other people, not only that they might be blessed, but I could have the blessing of communicating with them and rejoicing in the goodness and mercy of God. So sometimes you may feel overwhelmed, though, as you try to pray and say, well, I don't know. It just seems like my prayers are not answered like I would like for them to. I feel like I don't even know how to pray. I need help.

Well, I bring you good news. Help is available. Romans 8 26. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings, which cannot be uttered.

Think of that. The Holy Spirit of God will help our infirmities, help us in prayer. Pray without ceasing. Heavenly Father, we ask that I would impress upon our hearts the truthfulness of this little three-word text that we might be more diligent in prayer and find the blessing of being in fellowship and communion with you and seeing the great and mighty things that can be done when prayer is persistently offered and that we do not faint or give up. Hear us for Jesus' sake, we ask. Amen.

Amen. A throne of grace then let us go and offer up our prayer. A gracious God will mercy show to all that worship Him. I hope this message is encouraging to all of us to faithfully seek the Lord and do just what the text says to pray without ceasing. We're told in the preceding verse to rejoice evermore and we can't rejoice evermore if we're not praying without ceasing. And further connected with it, he says, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I hope you will write and let us know that you've listened. Until next week at this same time, may the Lord richly bless you all. A throne of grace rejoice, she sings, that from His open still to God a moose on your complaints and then inquire His will. A throne of grace we yet shall need long as we draw our prayer. A Savior to, to winter's sea till we are changed by death. The throne of glory then shall blow with peace from Jesus.