DAY 4 of my brother in Christ, Brian Means, devotions. If you would like me to tag you so you will get the devotion every morning then just message or leave a comment. Good morning! pray without ceasing ; -1 Thessalonians 5:17. I know that this 3 word verse seems very simple. I know that many of those reading this have probably heard this verse a million times and have probably heard a thousand sermons concerning it. However, I believe that we often miss the mark of this verse. Now, I believe that, rather than praying in a visible fashion 24/7, this verse is directing us to live in a continual state of communication with God. I think of it as a running conversation throughout the day. The problem is that we, often, do not have this continual fellowship. Instead, we have a few little choppy sentences throughout the day that we direct toward God. This may be because we do not feel like we have that much to say to God (be honest...how long can you pray before you feel like you have covered everything?). Maybe we dont feel very motivated to pray until something troublesome arises. Maybe we are discouraged because our prayers have yet to be answered so we give up. Whatever the reason, that does not change the commandment to pray without ceasing. Therefore, I think we must take Gods counsel on prayer. After all,...He knows best what the ingredients for a great prayer life are. Before I begin, I should say that PRAYER is a deep subject that one could discuss for a year or more and still not exhaust the topic. This is not an all inclusive lesson on prayer, but, rather, a few thoughts that will help us all press on toward our goal...eternal life (John 17:3). The first ingredient that I wish to mention is PREPARATION. 1 John 5:14-15 says, 14This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. If you have ever had a hard time praying because you felt like God was a million miles away and did not hear your petition, here is your cure. We have a sure way to know, regardless of our feelings which often deceive us, that our Father hears our prayers. It is when we pray His will that we can be certain that He hears us AND that He grants our requests! So, how do we make sure that we are praying His will? We must prepare to pray. How?...by spending time in His Word. This is the only way to truly know His will. For instance, how can I know to ...beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (Luke 10:2) if I do not read this command in the Word? To be prepared to pray in such a way so as to be Biblically certain that our prayers are heard and granted, we must spend time in the Word. If we fail to do this, we will surely not pray in faith because it is written, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17). If we fail to prepare in the Word so as to build faith, we ignore the warning offered in James 1:6-7, But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from The Lord,; or, perhaps we will find ourselves suffering the fate of those addressed in James 4:3, You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. Before we pray, we must prepare so that we pray rightly. Secondly, we must OBEY. 1 John 3:22 tells us, and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. It is not enough that we know what Gods will is (James 1:22). If we want Him to answer us in a friendly manner, we should strive to be His friend. This is not an attempt to earn anything from God. It is simply obedience. In John 15:14 Jesus says, You are My friends if you do what I command you. If we want to have assurance that our requests will be received in a kindly manner, we must strive for obedience to our Master. The third and fourth ingredients deal with attitude. They consist of HUMILITY and PASSION. Jesus points out the need for humility in prayer in His parable of the Pharisee and the publican. This account is found in Luke 18:9-14. I encourage you to read it. However, for our purposes, suffice to say, ...GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. (James 4:6). How, when approaching the God of all creation (Genesis chapter 1), the God that parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21), the God that destroys armies and cities with fire (2 Kings 1:9-12; Genesis 19:24-25), the Creator who destroyed the earth with a flood (Genesis chapter 7), The Lord who, in His sovereignty hardens or breaks the hearts of men (Romans 9:18)...how can we approach His Awesome presence (Isaiah 6:1-4) with any attitude other than that of humility? To add to humility, God requires that our prayers not be mundane or lifeless. Rather, He says in James 5:16, ...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (KJV). Therefore, let us be certain to bring our requests, concerns, petitions, and praises to God with intensity and passion! Finally, the fifth ingredient is that of ENDURANCE. Remember our first verse, pray without ceasing? I believe this is also Gods way of telling us to pray and not give up. Jesus echos this truth in His parable of the widow and the unjust judge. This account is found in Luke 18:1-7 and is worth studying. However, for now, let us look at Jesus words in Matthew 7:7-11, 7Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! Ask, seek, and knock...these are not one time commandments. The actual translation of these words here are in the present progressive tense, ie., seek and keep seeking, ask and keep asking, and knock and keep knocking. If we have this tenacious approach to prayer, we are assured that our Heavenly Father will grant ...what is good to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:11). When we have put all these ingredients together: preparation, obedience, humility, passion, and endurance...then we are ready. Ready for what?...go back to the first word of our main verse. What does 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tell us to do? Thats right,...pray... May God bless us all in our pursuit of Him today.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 11:14:15 +0000
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