Without Ceasing is an overnight prayer experience. It begins at midnight on the last Saturday of every month and continues until 7:30am. At the 509 we believe in the power of prayer and so we gather together to pray for the world and people around us.
To Get Involved email Daniel Schroeder: dschroeder72@gmail.com
Prayer Schedule
Midnight – Opening Worship and Prayer
1 am - Silence in Prayer
2 am – Prayer for Faith
3 am – Prayers of Spiritual Healing
4 am - Hymns and Reflection in Worship
5 am - Prayer for Hope
6 am - Prayer for Love
7 am - Prayer for 509 Leadership
7:30 am – Closing Prayer
Further Explanation and Scripture for reference during specific prayer times
Opening Worship and Prayer
This is a time to remind ourselves why we pray and in whose authority we are praying. Entering into worship helps us remember the depth of God’s great love for us and the magnitude of the actions of his son Jesus. What better way to begin our prayers tonight than by offering up worship to our Father in heaven who hears our prayers?
The psalms are filled with many songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving, all pointing back to the results of prayer.
Psalms of Worship to reflect on:
Psalm 95:1-7
Psalm 96
Psalm 100
Psalm 102
Silence in Prayer
Often we feel very uncomfortable with silence because we are not used to it. Our world is filled with noise and so when we pray we become tempted to always fill it with words and thoughts. Consequently, we forget to listen to God which is one of the most important aspects of prayer. Many of us never make time in our prayers to listen to God and we may not even know what it feels like to spend time listening to God.
The prayer of silence is about taking time to dwell in the presence of God and listen to Him among the silence. God speaks to us in many ways so do not look for Him to come to you in a specific way. In 1 Kings 19:11-13 Elijah waited for God and was confused when God did not speak to him in the strong wind, the earthquake, or the fire. But after the fire there was a still, small voice and God spoke to Elijah through that sound.
Some things you can do to help you listen:
• Spend time reading a passage from the Bible
• Close your eyes and try to clear your mind of your own thoughts and daydreaming
• Ask God to speak to you clearly and specifically and then concentrate on just enjoying being in the presence of God
Prayer for Faith
Things to consider in prayer:
- Pray against unbelief
- Obedience, both personally and communally
- Trust in God’s character and what He’s doing & asking of us
- Belief for the miraculous to take place, even “lost causes”
- Believing enough to risk–step out of our comfort zone, stop relying on our own abilities
- Mark 4:30-41
- Faith like a mustard seed
- Right after this, Jesus calms the raging sea and says to the disciples, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
- What are the areas that Jesus is saying this to US? How is He asking us to trust Him?
Prayer for Love
Things to consider in prayer:
- Seeking after the attributes of 1 Corinthians 13
- Desiring more of God
- Loving our enemies
- Getting to know and loving our 509 neighbors
- Loving our brothers & sisters
- Encouragement
- Words of life, never words of death (proverbs 18:21)
- Rebuke in the correct way
- Togethering (loving through community)
- Learning to include and embrace
- Unity of the local Church
- Humility, submission, selflessness
Prayers of Spiritual Healing
James 5:15-16 says, “And the prayer of faith will save him who is sick, and the Lord will restore him; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess to one another therefore your faults and pray for one another that you may be healed and restored to a spiritual tone of mind and heart. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available.”
The Bible makes it clear that we are to continually pray for one another and confess to each other. One of the struggles of being a Christian in an individualistic culture is that we tend to try to tackle our struggles ourselves and put on a good face for others. In doing so we forget that many of our struggles are not physical or emotional but spiritual and we find ourselves unable to conquer our sin patterns and struggles. Ephesians 6:12 says “For our struggle is not against flesh blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Luke 10:19 says, “Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions and (physical and mental strength and ability) over all the power that the enemy posses; and nothing shall in any way harm you.” If we realize that most of our struggles are spiritual and that we have been given power over the enemy why do allow ourselves and our friends to be conquered by the power of darkness in their life? It is important that we pray for our struggling brothers and sisters in Christ so that they may be set free from darkness and reconciled to Christ.