There are two words which Paul uses that call us to speak thousands upon thousands of words. In our English Bible there are three words; but as Paul wrote it in the Greek language only two words are used. But millions upon millions of words must come out of our hearts and mouths. Paul says this in I Thessalonians 5:17 . He calls us to "Pray without ceasing."
Of course, this does not mean that we do nothing but pray all day. We need hours of sleep, and with our mouths we must eat food or we will become too weak to pray. But look at the exhortation before this one in regard to praying. In the preceding verse he stated, "Rejoice evermore." And in the verse that follows, "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
Plainly, then, our prayer must be because of the joy God makes possible, and our prayers must be thankfulness to Him. There really is not a minute or second when we do not owe God thanks for His blessings on us.
Tomorrow we will go more deeply into this truth, but we should take a strong hold of it now, so that we may ceaselessly pray to our God, for He deserves it, as far as thankfulness is concerned; and we need it as far as seeking reasons for joy is concerned. We had better examine our lives to be sure that we are keeping this calling which is presented to us by God Himself through the apostle Paul.
If you are a child of God, you are going to pray without ceasing. You are going to pray to God because you rejoice in what He has done for you through Christ and His cross and ascension into heaven. And you are going to give Him thanks often and daily. Your every prayer is going to contain thankfulness. It will reveal what it is wherein you find joy in this present life.
Read: I Thessalonians 5:14-28 .
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Isaiah 48:12-22; Isaiah 49; Isaiah 50:1-11
Ephesians 4:17-32
Psalm 69:1-18
Proverbs 24:5-6
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Quote for Reflection:
The Power of Sin: “…the sun shining into a neglected room does not create the dust and cobwebs, but simply reveals them. Thus it is with the Christian. The more the light of the Spirit is turned upon him inwardly, the more he discovers the horrible plague of his heart (1 Kings 8:38), and the more he realizes what a wretched failure he is. The fact is, dear discouraged soul, that the more you are growing out of love with yourself, the more you are being saved from the power of sin. Wherein lies its fearful potency? Why, in its power to deceive us. It lies to us. It did so to Adam and Eve. It gives us false estimates of values so that we mistake the tinsel for real gold. To be saved from the power of sin, is to have our eyes opened so that we see things in God’s light: it is to know the truth about things all around us, and the truth about ourselves. Satan has blinded the minds of them that believe not, but the Holy Spirit hath shined in our hearts "unto the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:4, 6).” -A. Pink
