…pray continually…
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV
Pray Without Ceasing
Unlike the United States, Australia, South Africa and several other nations, Canada has never had a nationally recognized day dedicated solely to prayer. That changed last year, as hundreds of leaders from across the nation – spanning denominations, cultural backgrounds, and provinces – for the first time gathered in the nation’s capital to pray for Canada. Organizers emphasized that the gathering not only focused on the many issues of our day, as important as many of those issues are, but on the future generations in Canada.
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Sometimes short commands are more effective than longer ones. You know this if you’ve ever said to your child “go to your room.” Whatever brought on this parental command, it is usually effective. As Paul writes to the believers in Thessalonica, he issues a couple of short, two-word commands – rejoice always, and in the next verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:17: “…pray continually…” Paul here is not asking us to walk around with our eyes closed all day. He’s inviting us into a life of constant connection with our Father God. Prayer is not meant to be a compartment of our day; it is meant to be the current that runs through it. It is the quiet whisper in the car, the gratitude breathed over a meal, the quick cry for help in a moment of frustration, the silent praise that rises when we see a beautiful sunrise. It is awareness—holy awareness—that God is near. When we live in continual prayer, we are reminded that we are never alone. Decisions become conversations. Burdens become shared loads. Joy becomes worship. So, today, pray continually.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley