Tag: scripture

Pray continually?? Really?

Originally posted 11/4/2020

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

What comes to mind when you think about praying continually? If mission impossible comes to mind, then you are thinking like I have. Continually means “without stopping or interruption” (Thank you, Merriam-Webster.com). That means All. The. Time. How is that possible?

When we think about what it takes to pray continually, we need to get a few things sorted out. First, God is not asking us to be on our knees, with our prayer shawl, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to the exclusion of everything else forever. That is not reasonable or practical, and God is both. He understands our humanity, our needs, and our limits better than we do because He created us. There are other things that we need to accomplish each day of our lives, and God has called us and commanded us to those just as much as he has said that we should be praying all the time.

Praying continually is about adopting a continual attitude of prayer and engaging in continual conversation with our beloved Father. Prayer doesn’t have to be a formal, set aside time in a specific posture, but prayer should be intentional. As with any spiritual discipline, it takes intentional thought, planning, and scheduling to ensure our habits are strong. It is important to make prayer a priority throughout the day—adopting a continual attitude of prayer as we go about our day. Here is how this looks in my world:

  • Morning prayer: As I am opening my eyes to a new day, I take time to thank God for the opportunities the day brings. I ask that He go with me throughout my day, guarding my heart and mind and guiding my steps. Ideally my day also begins with a short devotion that generally has a guided prayer time on that topic. Admittedly, I am better at the prayer than I am about the devotion, especially if I am pressed for time in the morning. Sometimes my devotion is read while I’m drying my hair, packing my lunch or in pieces at stoplights during my drive to work! Regardless of my sometimes-lackluster devotion habits, my prayer habit remains intentional.
  • “I’ll pray for you” prayer: How many times do we tell others that we will pray for them? How often do we actually do it? I am awed and inspired by folks who will stop and pray with the person in that moment. I have managed that with close friends and family members, but my courage for it wanes with people I don’t know as well. However, I am working diligently to take the time to pray for that person as soon as possible after I say that I will. The more intentional I have been about this; the more God brings that person to mind throughout the day.
  • Mealtime prayer: I worked hard to build this habit with my children, and still do when they come home to visit. However, it has taken longer for me to build it for myself. When I am at work, I often eat at my desk—not really taking the time to use lunch as a break. Taking the moment to pause for intentional prayer puts a bit of a break into my hectic day and helps set my focus back to Who I am really working for. At dinner, it is a great time to reflect on the day.
  • Prayers of gratitude: Stopping, even for a moment, to thank God for my surroundings, moments of blessing during the day, finding things I have misplaced, and helping me to guard my tongue in moments where a nasty comment/comeback is brewing helps keep my focus on His sovereignty and provision throughout the day.
  • Bedtime prayer: These are often some of my shortest, sleepiest prayers. However, I am sure that God hears them. I take a moment to thank Him again for getting me through the day and ask Him to grant rest for me and for those I love.

There is no substitute for dedicated time of prayer and meditation—journal and scripture in my lap, a cup of coffee in my hand, relishing the quiet of the moment to listen to God’s voice. I cherish those times, but let’s be honest, those moments are not as frequent as I would like. Talking to God throughout my day is a much more frequent habit than my dedicated prayer times. I appreciate the connection to God and the connection He gives me to others as He brings them to mind to cover in prayer.

Thanks for reading! 😊EW

Trust

Originally posted 9/22/2020

When we look at the topic of trust, especially in how trust
relates to faith, we often have more questions than answers. What is trust?
What does it look like? How do we grow in trust? How do we know we are trusting
in the right things? What are the right things to trust in? Today, my hope is
to look through Scripture and try to put together some answers.


According to Dictionary.com, trust is “reliance on the
integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence”


When we look at trust we are talking about integrity,
strength, ability…having confidence in someone or something that displays these
traits. To get through day to day life, we have to trust in things: If I am
walking across a bridge, I need to be able to trust that it won’t fall around
me. When I am rappelling, I need to trust that my gear won’t drop me. When I am
using my GPS, I have to trust that it will get me where I need to go. For those
things, trust often comes with perception and previous experience. However,
when we encounter a situation where our perception is inaccurate or our
previous experience has been disappointing or traumatic, trust can be lost. The
integrity of the object of our trust is so important to our confidence. To be
trusted, one must be trustworthy. Trust, once lost, is difficult to regain for
this reason.


Psalm 119:41-42 “May your unfailing love
come to me, Lord, your salvation, according to your promise; then I can answer
anyone who taunts me, for I trust in your word.” (NIV)


Psalm 52:8b “I trust in God’s unfailing
love for ever and ever.” (NIV)


Trust is not a human construct—it is a command and a sign of
obedience to God. When we apply human terms to the concept of trust, we will be
let down. Fellow humans, and those things constructed by humans, even in the
best of circumstances, are flawed. Our perceptions and discernment are also
flawed. That makes for a tough combination when it comes to trust.


Isaiah 26:4 “Trust in the Lord forever, for
the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” (NIV)


Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all
your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to
him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV)


Psalm 37:3 “Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.” (NIV)


Trusting in God doesn’t mean that life will be easy.
Straight paths aren’t guaranteed to be smooth and without difficulty. When we
trust God, we are trusting His character, His strength, His integrity. We trust
that he wants the best for us and will see us through any and all
circumstances. We trust that we can rely on Him even when things aren’t going
how we want.


God will put people in our lives to walk through those
circumstances with us. Those people are human, and they are flawed. We are
human, and we are flawed. When we trust people, we have to do so with the
understanding that both our trust and their trustworthiness is imperfect.
Trusting people cannot be the same as trusting in God. It has taken me a long
time to understand the difference, and that has been the source of hurt in my
life at times. I am not good at trust, but I am learning. With God’s perfect help,
I am a work in progress.


Thanks for reading! 😊 EW