Today’s Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:17, HCSB- “Pray constantly.”
Paul knew that the only way the Thessalonians and we could be who God calls us to be is to pray without ceasing. Sandwiched in between being instructed to rejoice always and giving thanks in all circumstances we are told to pray constantly.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 instructs us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (NIV) To live in God’s will, we must be in constant conversation with Him. In little things and big things we need to keep God in our minds, hearts, and souls.
How do we do this? We must let the Spirit of God flow through us. In 1 Thessalonians 5:19 we are warned “Do not quench the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit of God is constantly at work and our nature and this world are constantly at work to quench or cast doubt on the works impressed upon us to complete.
One of my prior work managers used to constantly say that we needed to control our second thoughts. Many times we are given instructions from the Spirit of God only to have our next thought casting doubt. In sales this causes call reluctance. In life we are reluctant to move in the Spirit because we cannot see how this can possibly work.
We must give things a shot and not allow our own thoughts and feelings to extinguish the movement of the Spirit of God. We can accept that all things, in the immediate, do not turn out as we may have planned but we can trust God, His Spirit, and His timing.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” (NKJV) Do you ever have the thought to reach out to someone or do something for someone but put it off? We must test the prompting. We can always trust that God is good, and He knows how seeds will sprout. In recovery we say just do the next right thing. This should really be, just do the next good thing.
I was having a conversation yesterday with an old friend who first introduced a word to me I had never noticed in the scriptures. In 1 John 2:20 in the King James version we are told “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” Interestingly, this verse from John the Apostle is following the previous two verses warning us about the antichrist in the last times .
We must not allow the perspectives, opinions, and understandings of the antichrist or ourselves to stop us from the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The truth of God is in the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God is in us. Yet, we must pray constantly to stay in the Spirit and move upon the unctions of the Spirit. The antichrist denies that Jesus is the Christ. We who know the truth must pray without ceasing for God to protect us from the lies of the enemy.
John said in 1 John 2:26-27 “I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.” (NLT)
Whether it is the voice of those attempting to lead us astray or our lack of confidence or commitment, we must pray constantly in the Spirit. 1 John 2:28 instructs us “And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.” (NLT)
Our courage comes from knowing God. We know God by constantly being in prayer with Him though His Spirit.
Today’s Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior, and for Your Holy Spirit. Draw us to Yourself constantly. Keep us far from the lies of the enemy. Grant us the courage and boldness to trust in Your will and Your Spirit. Impress upon us the unceasing prayers of Your Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ we do constantly pray. Amen.
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