“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
On the surface, when we look at these verses, we have to think “how could I possibly rejoice always, pray without ceasing or give thanks in all circumstances“? It would seem to us that there are certain trials that would make it difficulty to rejoice or give thanks through and we would be unable to focus on anything else, if we attempted to pray without ceasing.
I think that we should look at the pray without ceasing portion of the verse first, to assist us in accomplishing the other portions of these verses.
Have you ever been riding in the car and listening to the radio, kinda singing in your head, but carrying on a conversation with someone else in the car? Or, perhaps you remember doing your homework and listening to the radio at the same time. Somehow we are able to sing the words to the song, either in our minds or out loud, and do our homework or carry on that conversation.
That is how we pray without ceasing.
I shared with you a while ago about the night that God called me to tell three young people about Him and the whole time that I was talking to them, I was praying that God would give me the words that they needed to hear, that when our time on earth was through that they would have come to know Him, that we would all rejoice in glory for what God was accomplishing during this conversation. Somehow, I was able to pray to God through out the entire conversation with these young people.
One of the issues with our questioning how it is possible to pray without ceasing is our lack of faith and trust in God and His word. Would God, in His word, ask us to do something that it is impossible to do? Of course not, why would a loving Heavenly Father do that.
In Jeremiah 33:3 God says “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known”. And, Jeremiah 29:12 says “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. And, 1 John 5:14 tells us “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
So, based on the promises in these verses, we know that God hears us, will speak to us and will answer our prayers. . How then are we not able to rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances and pray without ceasing?
We have a loving Heavenly Father who longs to hear our voice. He desires to bless us and do good through and for us. He promises in Deuteronomy 31:8 that “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” He tells us in Psalm 46:1 that He “is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble”. In Romans 8:28 we find that “God will turn all things good to those who love Him and are called to His purpose.” With promises like these we can “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
We just have to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
I pray that today, your prayers would be the beautiful background music of your entire day and that you would pray without ceasing. I pray that those prayers would start with giving thanks for the bountiful blessings the Father has poured out on us, starting with our precious and faithful Savior and Helper, the Holy Spirit. I also pray that you would rejoice in His goodness and our salvation.
If you do not know Jesus as you personal Lord and Savior, I pray that you would go to our life preserver page, pray the prayer outlined there and contact me at admin@Forgiven-N-loved.com so that I can pray with you, help you to grow in your relationship and knowledge of the Lord and help you to learn to make prayer the beautiful background music of your life.
Luv Ya!
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:8-9
