Pray: Without Ceasing - 1st Thessalonians 5:17
This
morning we begin an August sermon series on “prayer.” Throughout this month we will examine various
aspects of how God calls us to pray. In
our very short Scripture reading this morning, Paul instructs the Thessalonians
to “pray without ceasing.” If we
understand that prayer is a conversation with God, does this mean that Paul is
calling us to drop everything else we are doing and for 24/7 we are to be in
conversation with God, constantly talking to God, on the inhale and exhale, praying
non-stop? If that is the case, then how
are we to work, how are we to eat, how are we to sleep, how are we to do
anything other than kneel at the altar rail or at our bedsides and lift up to
God all the things that are on our minds?
If we
think this is what Paul meant by “pray without ceasing,” then I think we’ve completely
missed the point of what Paul was saying, and in a way, what prayer is all
about.
If we
think prayer is simply lifting before God a laundry list of things we want to
see Him do in the world—whether it is to bring us rain, except on the day of
our music festival, and then bring more rain; or have Him heal our children,
parents, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbors, and everyone else of whatever
illness or injury they have; or have Him persuade the leaders of our country to
bring about how we think the government should be run; or have Him bring peace
to the Middle East, Ukraine, Africa, and everywhere else violence seems to be
rampaging; or even the more outrageous things such as asking Him to influence
the final score of a ballgame, find us a parking place close to the entrance of
the store, or help us resist eating all of that box of Hot Fresh Krispy Kreme
donuts we’ve just bought—the we totally have missed the point of prayer. Is there anything wrong with asking God to be
involved in those things—well no, except for maybe the sporting event, praying
after we’ve bought the donuts, and wanting the government shaped to our will
and design and not His. We can bring
before God our petitions, there is nothing wrong with that—in fact Scripture
sets before us the example of that and invites us to do that.
Prayer,
though, is not simply our talking to God.
It is a conversation with God…it involves not only speaking to God, but
listening to Him speak to us. Does that
mean that we will hear God’s voice as clearly as we speak ours? It’s possible. The Scriptures reveal to us folks that
literally heard God’s voice speaking to them.
We’ve all encountered someone who heard a voice speaking to them that
they attributed to God. Yet God also
speaks to us in the reading of Scripture.
He speaks to us in the voice of our brothers and sisters in Christ. He speaks to us in the silence of our
hearts. We simply have to stop talking
long enough to simply listen. It is
about giving God time, through prayer, to shape us and direct us.
In
fact, if we look to the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples when they asked
for instruction on praying—we see that only a small percentage of that prayer
is about petitioning God—and a larger portion is about the prayer shaping us:
Our
Father—reminds us that we are called to be part of a community of faith that is
not about us, but about God.
Who
art in Heaven—reminds us that we are the creature, and God is the Creator.
Hallowed
be Thy Name—reminds us that what we do, say, and think should bring honor and
glory to God’s Name.
Thy
Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done—reminds us that it is not about what we want,
but surrendering our will to what God desires.
On
Earth as it is in Heaven—reminds us that we are not supposed to be waiting for
God’s Kingdom, but actively living in such a way that the world sees it now.
Give
us this day our daily bread—Here we ask God to meet our needs, but also it
reminds us that We are to be satisfied with what God provides—like the daily
manna God provided in the wilderness for those fleeing Egypt.
Forgive
us our trespasses/debts/sins—Confessing that we are sinners in need of God’s grace.
As we
forgive those who trespass/debt/sin against us—remembering that we cannot ask
of God anything we are not willing to offer to those who have wronged us.
Lead
us not into temptation—If we don’t want God to lead us into temptation, we are
reminded that we shouldn’t take ourselves there as well.
But
deliver us from evil—asking God to not only protect us from evil, but cleanse
us from the evil within ourselves.
Prayer
is about listening and being shaped by God more so than it is trying to get God
to do what we want.
What
does this have to do with “praying without ceasing.” It means being in a constant attitude of
prayer. If prayer is about letting God
transform us, then to “pray without ceasing” would indicate that we are in a
constant state of communion with God, opening ourselves up to Him—letting God
know our desires, but seeking His will in all things. It means that rather simply being aware of
God and listening for God simply on Sunday mornings, at mealtimes, and at
bedtime…that we are constantly aware of God’s presence in our lives and His
love for us.
You
know, some of the toughest directives of Paul come right before and right after
his direction of “pray without ceasing.”
Paul says, “See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek
to do good to one another and to all.”
In other words, make sure you don’t even think about getting even when
someone wrongs you—Paul is talking about “turning the other cheek,” “doing good
to those who persecute you,” “loving your enemy”—those hard words of Jesus.
Paul
continues on, “Rejoice always…give thanks in all circumstances.” We can’t believe that. We look around the world and in our own lives
and see struggle and pain. We see
sickness and hurt. We see evil run
rampant as innocents are killed and the weak are taken advantage of. We may be the ones struggling and in pain, we
may be the ones sick, or we may be the ones battling evil or being taken
advantage of…and we’re suppose to rejoice, even as this is going on? We’re supposed to give thanks while it is
happening to us? You’ve got to be
kidding, right?
However,
at the core, at the center of all of this is where we see Paul say, “pray
without ceasing.”
That
is the key.
If we
strive to be in constant communion with God…with a constant awareness that God
is with us, that He sees and cares for us…that He hears our cries…and if we
listen for Him to comfort, direct, and lead us…it will shape every aspect of
our lives.
If we
are constantly aware of God’s presence in our lives, it will shape our actions. It will change who we are and how we live
Sunday afternoon through Saturday night.
It mill move us from self-seeking actions to acts of generosity. It will move us from rudeness and arrogance
to acts of hospitality. It will move us
from turning a blind eye to those in need to responding with acts of
compassion. It will move us from acts
that dishonor, disrespect, or ignore God to acts that glorify His Name.
“Praying
without ceasing” will also shape our attitudes.
If we are desiring God’s forgiveness and realize that we must forgive in
order to be forgiven—then it will leave us realizing that we can’t walk around
with a chip on our shoulder or refuse to talk to someone and think we’re still
good with God. It will start to shape
our immediate responses so that rather than respond with road rage, wondering
“what was that (fill in the blank) thinking,” we are the ones backing off to
let someone merge, for we remember that “Vengeance is [God’s]” and that we are
to “If it is possible, so far as it depends on [us], live peaceably with all.”[i]
It
will mean that if we are in constant conversation with the One who will have
the final word in our lives, that we don’t walk around fearful of what might
happen to us or what someone or something might do to us, but that we walk
around confident that we are loved by the One who has granted us Eternal Life
with Himself, and that nothing “in all creation will be able to separate us
from [His love] in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[ii]
It means we don’t walk around depress or
thinking there is no Hope, because we are in a relationship with the God who
raised Jesus from the dead and “we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also…So we do not lose heart…For this slight momentary affliction
is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.”[iii]
It moves us from jealousy or resentment of
what we do not have, to the realization of just how much God has blessed us
with and that if we even have a box of crackers in our cabinet, our cup of
provisions overflows, for we know that “God will fully satisfy every need of
[ours] according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”[iv]
Pray
without ceasing…being in constant communion with God—being aware of His
presence with us wherever we may be…listening for His voice as we bare before
Him our complete being…may we allow this ongoing prayer life to shape both our
attitudes and actions…
In
the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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