Prayer as a Lifestyle"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
Does Paul's exhortation seem too much? How can we be joyful always when this world is filled with sadness? How can we always be praying? How can we give thanks in everything when life just seems unfair at times? Yet, despite these questions, Paul states that this is God's will for us.
It is easy to feel joyful when everything is going right. James though tells us that we should rejoice even in the midst of trials and sufferings. It is through suffering that we gain perseverance, and perseverance leads to spiritual maturity and completeness. We can only have joy in every situation when our joy is grounded not on what is happening to us, but when our joy is centered on Christ working in us. We rejoice in times of suffering, not because the circumstances are pleasant, but because we can have confidence that God uses those times to draw us nearer to Him.
We often think that prayer only occurs when we bow our heads and say some words. But Paul teaches us to pray continually. Obviously, our lives cannot be spent with just our heads bowed. Instead, Paul is urging us to make prayer a lifestyle. Prayer can be like breathing. We breathe 24/7, even though we are not always conscious of it. In the same way, a lifestyle of prayer involves remembering God in all our activities, having a spirit of thanksgiving, relying on God in all circumstances, and being alert for the work of the Spirit. A lifestyle of prayer is lived out in seeking God's will and living in that will at all times.
Finally, the Scriptures declare that in all circumstances we are to give thanks. Job, after losing his children, land, and property, stated, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord!" Paul in another place said our thanksgiving should overflow. We can have thanks in all circumstances when we recognize that everything that we have is a gift from God. We can be thankful for what God is doing, even in the midst of suffering.
This is a difficult passage to live out. To live this out, we need to take inventory of our mind. Is our joy grounded in what outwardly happens to us, or is our joy grounded in what God is doing inwardly, even in the most trying circumstances? Do we live a life that constantly seeks to follow God's desire? In everything that we do, are remembering God? Do we take time to thank God for all the blessing he gives? Let us strive to be joyful always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God.
Darren R. Covington, First Church of God, Greensburg, Indiana.
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