Sunday, May 10th, 2009

Sunday, May 10th, 2009


1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

As I mentioned yesterday, in these verses there are three incredible commands, that seem to be impossible to fulfill, and yet one extremely compelling reason of why I should strive to fulfill them.

Today is the second day of meditating on these three commands. as well as the compelling reason to fulfill them. Today is the second day of meditation, and the second command.

The second command is to pray without ceasing. This phrase has always puzzled me. However, recently I heard a quote from Charles Spurgeon which said something like, "I never pray for more than five minutes, and I never go five minutes without praying." When I first heard that quote, I immediately excused myself, because I was not in the full-time gospel ministry. Of course he could do that, he was paid to do that. But then, I began to really ponder this, and am still working it out.

What is prayer? This is a question that most of us are too scared to ask. The common definition is an act of communicating with a god or spirit in worship. For the Christian of course, it is an act of communicating with the one, true God in worship through Jesus Christ. Prayer is also commonly said to include the concept of ACTS, adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. So really, prayer is communication with God through the mediation of Jesus Christ.

This communication with God is not to be done lightly, for I am dealing with a powerful and awesome God. He is all holy, all powerful, all wise, and all good. I am to come into His presence with reverence and joy. I am to come to Him the way that He has prescribed. He tells me that I can come to Him with boldness, He tells me that He listens and hears every word that I pray to Him. He tells me that He will answer my prayers. He tells me that I should be constant in prayer, and not lose heart.

Thus, prayer is a wonderful thing, for if I have a relationship with someone, I will generally want to talk with them. If I have a wonderful relationship with someone, I will generally love to talk with them. Not only will I listen to what they have to say, but I will also tell them what I have to say.

This is the paradox of faith. Praying to a God that I cannot see is very hard. Has He always been faithful? Yes. Has He always answered my prayers, yes, not necessarily in the way that I want, but truly always for my good.

As with everything in life, practicing makes better. Thus, the only way to overcome the struggle with prayer is to do it...frequently. It is probably a wise thing to spend time understanding why prayer is important to God, and why it is very important for me.

So it is clear from the text that I am to pray without ceasing, but why? Well, the rest of the verse explains it pretty clearly. This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for me. God wills and desires that I spend all of my time communicating with Him and to Him. He requires of me that I have such a good relationship with Him that my time is spent in prayer to Him. This makes perfect sense. If God in Christ redeemed me to have a right relationship with Him, would this not include the communication of prayer to Him, for which the Lord Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for. Yes, Jesus Christ paid a price so great, to redeem me to Himself, so that I would have a good relationship with Him. If I am not praying constantly, than it is obvious that my relationship with Him is not very good. Thus, the will of God is that I have fellowship with Him and a right relationship.

Heavenly Father, great and awesome God, I know you are powerful and mighty. I know that you are holy and good. I know that you have redeemed me to yourself, so that I might walk with you, and give my life in service to you. In order for us to have a relationship that is beautiful and sweet. However, I have sinned against you, for I have not communed with you as much as I should. I have been a man of little faith. I have not prayed as much as I should, for I have not viewed prayer as an important part of a healthy relationship. I need your grace and forgiveness in Christ. But I also need your Holy Spirit. I need your Holy Spirit to pour out upon me the grace that is needed to pray to you constantly. I don't have the power or the ability to do this. Please give me today the grace to pray to you without ceasing. In Jesus Christ, amen.