Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:13-18
How can anyone pray continually? Our first thought is that this must be an exaggeration. Surely Paul just meant that we should pray a lot. The commands that frame the call to pray also seem impossible. How can one be always joyful and give thanks in all things? Life is hard and hurtful at times. This seems to be a highly unrealistic, sugarcoated view of Christian life.
But prayer is a state of mind when you are connected to your Creator and within God's will. It means praising God and looking and listening to God, not just actively telling God what you want or are thinking. To pray continually means to go through the day aware of God's presence and listening to God's guidance in all things.
When God infuses every moment of life, every moment can be spent in His presence. In that case, thanks is an inevitable result of living. When we live connected to our Creator, we live in a deeper, more profound place than where minor annoyances or even difficult circumstances or life can shake us.
It does not mean that life's tragedies will not touch us. What it does mean is that even stronger than any pain that life can deal us is the assurance and joy of God's love and salvation, the assurance we get from continuously opening our hearts to God.
Prayer: Lord, may my life be infused with Your presence at all times. Help me, Holy Spirit, to live in constant awareness of You. May my spirit rest in You each and every day. In Your precious name Lord Jesus, Amen.
** Devotion is taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink
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