4. There is ordinary and extraordinary prayer. Ordinary prayer is performed upon ordinary causes, such as daily necessities : Ps. Iv. 17, ' Evening, and morning, and noon, will I pray, and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice.' Extraordinary prayer is upon special weighty occasions, which requireth more than ordinary continuance of time and afiection : Joel i. 14, ' Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord.' Now all these kinds of prayer are to be made conscience of, and none to be neglected ; and in none of these cases must we cease to pray when God requireth it at our hands.
II. What it is to pray without ceasing. This needeth to be ex- plained, because some strain it too far, others straiten it too much ; and we must state the matter so as to avoid the extremes on both sides.
First, One extreme is that of the ancient Euchites, and because they seem to be befriended by the letter of the text, we must clear the
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matter a little. Their senseless error was, as if the act of prayer were never to be discontinued, and therefore they omitted all other duties, and would only pray.
Secondly, The other extreme is of those who keep not up a constant frequent return of this duty. We must obviate both.
1. For those that would never intermit this exercise.
[1.] We must show them their error by explaining the word. A thing is said to be done continually and without ceasing, which is done at the constant times and seasons as often as they return. As David told Amasa, 2 Sam. xix. 13, ' Thou shalt be captain of the host before me continually ; ' that is, as often as the army was led forth ; so 2 Sam. ix. 12, ' Mephibosheth did eat bread at the king's table continually ;' that is, at the constant stated times of eating. So Eom. ix. 2, ' I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart ; ' that is, as often as he thought of them. So also is the word ' without ceasing ' used, 1 Thes. ii. 13, 'For this cause we thank God without ceasing; ' that is, as often as he was with God. So 2 Tim. i. 3, ' Without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers, night and day ; ' that is, evening and morning, as often as he went to God.
[2.] The matter may bear a good sense if you interpret the apostle's direction either —
(1.) Of the habit of prayer, or the praying temper ; that frame of spirit or affection which is fit for prayer must never be lost : Ps. civ. 9, ' But I give myself unto prayer.' In the original there is no more * but I prayer,' as if he were wholly made up of prayer and supplica- tion ; this was the work he was given to, or most intent upon.
(2.) It may be interpreted of a vital prayer. All duties may be resolved into prayer and praise. Now as the life of a christian is a life of love and praise, a kind of confession or hymn to God, so in other respects it is a prayer. Semper oral, qui semper bene agit ; he that liveth in a constant obedience to God and dependence upon him, doth in effect always pray to him. Now thus doth a christian, both as to life natural and spiritual : Ps. xxv. 5, ' On thee do I wait all the day.' Every minute we depend upon him for the direction and support of his Holy Spirit. So Prov. xxiii. 27, ' Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.' He liveth in an awful regard, loath to displease God because all cometh from him. Now this is virtually a prayer, because he still elevateth his thoughts and desires towards him, and iooketh for all from God.
(3.) This praying without ceasing may be interpreted of our con- tinuance in the duty, till we obtain the ends of prayer ; and that some competent time is to be spent in it. Prayer is the lifting up of the heart, or the offering of our desires to God in some affectionate manner. In extraordinary occasions the time may be longer ; as Christ spent whole nights in prayer : Luke vi. 12, ' He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God,' On ordinary occasions the time may be shorter, but the general direction is, con- tinue in prayer : Eom. xii. 12, ' Continue instant in prayer.' A short good-morrow is too slight a compliment for the great God ; such inter- parlance with him is necessary as may warm the heart and serve the ends of prayer.
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(4.) Praying without ceasing may express our perseverance in prayer without fainting : Luke xviii. 1, ' He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint ; ' when we will not let God alone until he bless us. We must not yield to despon- dency, though we be not heard presently, but let us pray the more earnestly, though the prayer seemeth to be checked and contradicted by God's providence, as the woman of Canaan gets ground by dis- couragements, Mat. XV. 22-28. We must reiterate our petitions for one and the same thing till it be granted ; as Paul prayed thrice : 2 Cor. xii. 8, ' For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.' A seeming repulse and denial maketh us the more, vehement ; for the language of God's rebukes is, not to pray no more, but pray on still ; it is yielding to a temptation to desist.