OCTOBER 11, 2024
READ: 1 Thessalonians 5 (Focus vs. 16-22)
MEMORY VERSE
“Pray continually.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
BACKGROUND
“I got an 84 on the test!”
I felt my teen’s excitement as I read her message on my phone. She’d just started attending classes at a high school and was using her phone during lunch.
My mama heart leaped, not just because my daughter had done well on a challenging test, but because she was choosing to communicate it to me. She wanted to share her good news with me!
Realizing that her text had made my day, I later thought about how God must feel when I reach out to Him. Is He as pleased when I talk to Him? Prayer is how we communicate with God and something we’re told to do “continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Talking with Him reminds us that He’s with us through the good and the bad. Sharing our news with God, even though He already knows all about us, is helpful as it shifts our focus and helps us think about Him.
Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast [fixed on you], because they trust in you.” We have peace awaiting us when we turn our attention to God.
Regardless of what we face, may we continually speak with God and keep in touch with our Creator and Savior. Whisper a prayer and remember to rejoice and “give thanks.” After all, Paul says, this is “God’s will” for us (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
By: Katara Patton
INSIGHT
How is it possible to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)? Theologian J. B. Lightfoot wrote, “It is not in the moving of the lips, but in the elevation of the heart to God that the essence of prayer consists.”
That is, prayer isn’t just times set apart to speak to God; it’s continually lifting up all that’s in our hearts to Him as we go about our daily lives.
Sometimes that will take the form of words, but often it will be a wordless reaching out to Him. It’s possible to “pray continually” because Christ’s Spirit unites our hearts to God’s, continually assuring us of His love for us as His children (Romans 8:16).
APPLICATION
What do you need to share with God? How can you remember to keep in touch with Him throughout your day?
PR’s RE-EMPHASIS (From Post)
“…Talking with Him (in prayer) reminds us that He’s with us through the good and the bad…Regardless of what we face, may we continually speak with God and keep in touch with our Creator and Savior.
PR’s (PASTOR RICHARD) TAKE
Just as we breathe continuously so can we be in prayer continuously. pr
“The very act of prayer is a blessing. To pray is to enter the treasure-house of God and to gather riches out of an inexhaustible storehouse.” Charles Spurgeon
“Pray until you can pray; pray to be helped to pray and do not give up praying because you cannot pray. For it is when you think you cannot pray that is when you are praying.” Charles Spurgeon
PRAYER
“Gracious God, please remind me to stay in touch with You throughout my day. I want to rejoice and give You thanks in all I face.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“PRAY WITHOUT CEASING”
Pray without ceasing, wait on the Lord,
Pleading the promise found in His Word,
You will be sure to receive a reward,—
Pray without ceasing, pray.
Pray without ceasing, God will reply,
If in the name of Christ you apply,
For He has promised to hear your cry,—
Pray without ceasing, pray, ever pray.
Pray when you’re tempted,
Pray when you’re tried,
Nothing you ask will e’er be denied,
If in the Master’s will you abide,
Pray without ceasing, pray.
Pray without ceasing, God will reply…
Pray in the sunshine, pray in the night,
Pray when your hopes have taken their flight,
Call on the Lord and all will be right,—
Pray without ceasing, pray.
Pray without ceasing, God will reply…
Prayer is the key more precious than gold,
Op’ning the door to treasures untold,
Riches of grace unbounded unfold,
If you will ever pray.
Pray without ceasing, God will reply,
If in the name of Christ you apply,
For He has promised to hear your cry,—
Pray without ceasing, pray, ever pray.
READING THROUGH THE BIBLE THIS YEAR (DAILY)
1 CORINTHIANS 8
