1 Thessalonians 4:17 “Pray without ceasing.”

As we looked yesterday at having the faith to know that what God says, WILL happen, today we need to be reminded of praying. We have to remember the importance of prayer.

In our busy lives, and hectic days, we have many, many opportunities to forget to pray. We can get so caught up in our day, that we find ourselves with no time, to pray. It’s happened to me, that is for sure, and it is a terrible thing.

Prayer, is not just an obligation or anything, but prayer helps US, more than it gives pleasure to God just hearing our voice. When we pray, we receive so many things. I’m not speaking though of going to God and asking things from Him, as though He is an ATM machine or a bank you can visit, get what you want, and then leave until the next time. I’m speaking of how, when we pray, we can hear the voice of God, we can get a peace, a joy, a comfort, all sorts of things that far surpass anything the world can give us. When we pray, we can feel the presence of God, as we go before His Throne, worshipping Him and kneeling to just bask in His Glory. And our Lord, our Father, just relishes in hearing our voice, and having that relationship with us to where we can be in communication!

Because of how busy our days can get, so many find themselves praying, in the midst of working. That is fine, to a certain point. If you have no problem understanding that we should give money to the Lord, because the Money comes from the Lord and He deserves at least part of it, then remember this: Who gives us time? Who gives us the breath we breathe, the time we spend still here on Earth? It isn’t that we give it to ourselves, that is for certain. God is the one who gives us the time we have. So, don’t you agree that God deserves at least a part of our day? I’m not talking about sharing that time either. When you tithe or give money to the work of the Lord, do you hold on to one end of it while having someone else hold on to the other end? No, it completely leaves your hand, and you give it completely. The same should be for our Lord. While it’s fine to pray while we do other things, we need to be sure to set aside time in our day, that strictly belongs to the Lord and Him alone. Another way of thinking about it, is this: The Marriage Relationship. How would you like it, if nearly every time you saw your husband or wife, you had to share that time with someone else? How does it feel, if for days, or even one day, you are not able to spend any time alone with him or her? Even worse, what if it is not your decision, but you were trying and always available to spend time with your spouse, but he or she was just always “too busy” to spend time alone with you? That would make you feel as though you were not important enough in their life, wouldn’t it? If we feel that way with human companionship, imagine how God—the One who created you, and the One who wanted to have a relationship with you so badly that He went through torture beyond anything ever seen before and ever will be seen—imagine how He feels when we tell Him that if we give Him time, He has to share it with other things.

We need to set apart time in our day, to pray to our Lord, quietly, and without anything else distracting us. It’s difficult if we have such busy days, I definitely know and can understand that. But what is more important: our busy days, or God who GIVES us the time we have in order to do those things? I can promise you, and you can hold me to it, that if you spend quiet time each day, with our Lord and only Him (including leaving behind those thoughts racing through your mind, He wants our thoughts as well as our words and heart), then your work will seem so much easier to handle!

Even better though, is if we learn to pray without ceasing! I’ve been asked, “How can someone pray without ceasing?” and I like to answer very plainly, “Never leave the throne of God.” When I pray, I close my eyes, and see myself go before the throne of God and kneel, bow down, just worshipping Him, and talking with Him, and listening to Him. Do the same, and you will find it much easier to learn to focus on Him instead of everything else going on in your thoughts. See Him, and only Him. Now, to pray without ceasing, never leave the throne of grace. When you end your prayer, don’t end it and walk away from the throne to go about the rest of your day. Stay there, talking with Him and worshipping Him. If you say that is hard to do when you need to focus on the work you need to do, then put it another way, Never lose sight of Him, keep Him first in your thoughts, and put Him right beside or in front of you, staying there as you work and do what you need to do. When you do that, your day will seem so much easier, and honestly you probably will find yourself just saying aloud or within, “Thank You Lord.” or “I Love You so much, Father.” or “Praise God!” If you don’t do that automatically, try remembering to do it, and do it, to remind yourself that you are supposed to be right there before the throne of God, still. It just happens for me, that as I do that, I find myself thanking Him and giving Him Praise, all the day long, and most certainly while I work because He allows me to be able to do that work, or get it done!

Knowing the above, It’s interesting to find out also, the surrounding verses. God today revealed that to me, I did not already realize it, but take a look at them: Verses 16-18, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without Ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Praying without ceasing, is surrounded by rejoicing, and giving thanks. Rejoice, pray, give thanks . . . and all three have words meaning for us to do it continually and always! If we pray without ceasing, we most certainly will find ourselves rejoicing without ceasing, and giving thanks or every thing, as it was mentioned would happen in the above paragraph. Those three, will go hand in hand, with praying without ceasing the cause of the other two. Praise God indeed!

Remember to spend quiet time with our Lord, because just as a marriage relationship relies on such time, so does our “marriage relationship” with God Himself! Yet don’t just spend that quiet time alone with Him, but spend the entire day with Him, in addition to that quiet time with our Lord. Trust me, Trust God for He is the one who says it, it will make your day so much easier to get through!

I love you so much, and continue to pray for you. May our Lord remind us, and teach us, and help us to grow closer to Him every passing moment of the day. I pray that our Lord guides us in our speech and our actions. Let’s never forget to spend that time with Him, He will give us more than we need, if we do. May God Bless you abundantly, and you have a wonderful day today!

Love in Christ, Always,
Your friend forever,
And brother,
Chris/Michael

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Psalm 65:2 “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.”

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