CONTINUING INSTANT IN PRAYER

This phrase is the eleventh of nearly thirty short exhortations which form our passage, and by which Paul appeals for distinctively Christian conduct.

His preceding eleven chapters, with the opening verses of chapter 12, laid the doctrinal foundation on which his ethical instructions were built. These instructions do not require the exercise of gifts (he has dealt with those in verses 3 to 8) but the development of good behaviour. We do not all possess the same spiritual gifts, but we are all intended to manifest the same moral features.

Obedience is not easy. We are required to be consistently loving and kind, giving preference to the interests of others, to whom we are to be generous and hospitable. We are to bless our persecutors and to share the joys and sorrows of those around us. We are to be peaceable towards everyone and are never to avenge ourselves. We are not to be overcome by evil, but are to overcome evil with good. And we are not meant, merely, to attempt to meet some of these requirements some of the time, but to achieve them all, all the time! How is it possible?

The answer lies in our text, continuing ‘instant in prayer’. The RV renders it ‘continuing steadfastly in prayer’.

If we want to live as Paul instructs us to live, we must pray as Paul instructs us to pray. Only in this way can we draw constantly upon the divine resources in order to become increasingly what the Lord wants us to be. If we fail in this, we shall fall back upon our own resources and prove them to be non-existent. We shall attempt to please the Lord by our own efforts and discover, as we have so often discovered in the past, that it can’t be done. The most serious result of such failure will be that we displease the Lord and dishonour Him by our conduct. That alone should bring us to our knees in contrition. But for us, the result will be a sickening sense of defeat and a resultant decline into depression and frustration, until by His grace we resume the path of prayer. He never abandons us, of course, and He is always willing to welcome us back into His presence day by day.