Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1Thessalonians 5: 16-18
We are to pray continually. It is
about creating a God consciousness. A state of mind where we are truly walking
with God not deferring to Him when things go bad or we want something. In
Paul's letter to the Church at
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 4-7
Notice the first thing is to rejoice in the Lord always! Not just when we feel like it. Not just when He says "yes" but always. Why? Because the Lord is near! He is not some far away detached God. The Bible says He knows what we need before we even ask (Matthew 6:8). Then we need to realize that it is in our hearts and minds that we so easily lose our joy and our patience. Our hearts become troubled or our mind becomes impatient too easily when we forget what God has assured us of. His peace, the peace of Almighty God transcends all understanding that is known to man and will guard our hearts and our minds. It will protect us from losing our patience in affliction or our joy in hope. We live in that peace when we pray. When we refuse to believe in the anxiousness the world sells us and in EVERYTHING, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God. That means we pray about everything, not just what we are comfortable praying about. Not just when we find our backs are against the wall but everything. We also must do so with THANKSGIVING regardless of the answer! We are thankful not because we get what we want but because God hears us an answers according to the glorious will He has already laid out for our lives!
Faithfulness in prayer, patience in affliction and joy in hope. Three things that are not easily accomplished because they grate against our human nature so easily. Romans 12:12 is simply one of those verses that we ought to bathe in, as Spurgeon once said. Less than 50 letters in the verse, yet so many truths we need to suck up into our soul so that they saturate our hearts. Less than 50 letters that lead to the true peace of God and the joy of the Lord, available to us always in our hope or our affliction. Be prayerful today and rest in that peace forever.
Reverend Anthony Wade August 2, 2010
