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Does God really want us to pray continuously in all cases?
Question: How do you harmonize what seems to be an open invitation from God to keep asking, seeking, and knocking (Matthew 7:7,8) and to pray continuously (1 Thessalonians 5:17), with His injunction against Moses’ continual asking to be able to go into the promised land (Deuteronomy 3:23-27), and His telling Paul that He would not remove the thorn from his flesh after Paul had asked three times (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)?
Answer: I’m working on the theory that God wants us to keep asking until we are certain he has said yes or no. If he hasn’t said no, then we are free to keep asking for what we want and to trust that he is interested in our asking. Of course, once he answers yes, there is no more need to keep asking.
About the Author Randall Johnson
A full-time pastor since 1979, Randall originally graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM) in 1979 and from Reformed Theological Seminary (DMin) in 1998. He is married with four grown children and a pile of epic grandchildren.
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