Pray Without Ceasing

Sometimes the content of a Biblical command might be inaccurately or misleadingly conveyed in contemporary English Bibles.  An example of this is Paul's charge to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), an instruction which means something other than what some English translations suggest.  The Bible does not prescribe endless prayer, as if people are not permitted to focus on other things or perform other tasks, as the original wording and other Biblical passages demonstrate.

First and foremost, before linguistics is given attention, one needs to see if a concept itself has any logical flaws.  If the Bible is true and if there is a logical problem with an idea that is claimed to be Biblical, then one does not need to investigate Hebrew or Greek words to refute the idea in question, since reason deconstructs it on its own.  Reason shows that the Bible could not prescribe ceaseless prayer without contradicting another Biblical fact.

There is at least one time when humans cannot pray: during sleep.  God could not rationally expect for beings whom he engineered to require sleep to constantly communicate with him, never ceasing for even a moment.  If God demanded such a thing, he would be instructing humans to do something that is impossible for them, which would make God irrational.  Thus, Paul's command can only either be hyperbole or have an alternate meaning in the original language of his epistles.

Indeed, the Greek wording does not necessarily refer to a perpetual prayer without any pauses, but to a regular habit of prayer.  The former would quickly prove exhausting and detrimental to one's overall health, much less to one's spiritual health, whereas the latter can be deeply refreshing and rejuvenating.  In addition to it being irrational to demand the impossible of someone, it would also be also counterproductive for a deity who wants a relationship with individuals to demand that those individuals do something that would put strain on their relationships with him.

There is not a single command in the Bible that is beyond the human ability to obey.  To say otherwise is to contradict the Bible's tenet that God is just, for it is senseless to punish or condemn someone for not doing something that is impossible for them to accomplish.  Obedience to God is not an unattainable thing.  Thankfully, God is both just and consistent (Malachi 3:6); he does not assign unreachable goals.