In general I have questions on the absolute statements in the Bible that say always or never. Pray without ceasing. One cannot literally pray without ceasing or you would die of lack of sleep and starvation. One can put God first in all you say and do and take your problems to the Lord in prayer. How is one to discriminate between literal and flowery language in the Bible?

Nor is this incompatible with our Savior's fatigue or self-imposed limitations when he voluntarily laid aside the full use of his abilities and powers and humbled himself during his earthly ministry on our behalf. He never laid aside the full use his abilities "too much" or to a degree that rendered him unable (much less unwilling) to serve his people.

So we let both truths stand side by side -- his being always ready and able to serve us AND his self-imposed limitations while on earth. And we leave it in God's hands "how" to accomplish both.

When we are instructed to pray "without ceasing" or "continuously", we understand this as an encouragement to cultivate a lifestyle marked with prayer day in and day out. We may thus take the expression "without ceasing" as an idiomatic expression, something common to all languages and recognizable by the context of the words. We don't need to absolutize the words since in the context of the rest of the Bible we have nothing that necessitates that.

Some also point out that prayers are not necessarily only those petitions that the Christian speaks out loud, or with folded hands, and bowed head -- that is "formal" prayers. One's prayer life may include the ongoing meditation of one's heart above and beyond spoken words (as expressed in Psalm 19:14) and occurs constantly as we observe things and live out our lives. We may not even be fully conscious of all prayers prompted by the Holy Spirit within us (Romans 8:26-27), but may be said to be praying constantly.

Your question or concern about "always" and "never" expressions is probably one that should be handled on a case by case basis. Sometimes we may absolutize them and other times may not. What the Bible says on the same subject in other places is the primary factor for us.

Also at the heart of this whole discussion, I believe, is the matter of understanding someone's words by looking closely at their context (the speaker, the audience, the circumstances, the purpose of the words, etc.) in addition to the words themselves.

Also a part of this is knowing the way people communicate with each other through language -- which invariably includes the use of idioms and figures of speech. In love our gracious God communicated to mankind through the medium of human language in the Bible. Human language, in Bible times as well as in our own, makes use of idioms and figures of speech on a regular basis.