"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you".
1Thessalonians 5:16-18
I want you to think about this question and answer it honestly. What are the areas of your walk that you struggle with the most? What areas of your faith can you be doing better in? If you are honest with yourself, most every Christian says there are two main areas of their walk they can always be doing better in. Those areas are prayer life and studying the Word. Almost every follower of Jesus feels convicted in those two. We often feel like we struggle with making these two a priority. We know that besides fellowship with other Christians, these two areas are the foundation of a Christian life. So why do we struggle with making them a priority in our lives? Does the part of this verse above about praying without ceasing seem too overwhelming for us to think about? Perhaps we are letting the influences and pressures of the world take priority over these spiritual practices in our lives. Praying without ceasing, on the surface, can sound like an impossible task for us to achieve. When we think about this charge to continuously be praying coupled with the need to routinely study God's Word, we can easily get discouraged and feel like this is too much. But, what I think Paul is talking about here is a prayer lifestyle. Now don't get me wrong the physical act of praying and studying the Word is vitally important in our walk, but we can achieve this without ceasing when we incorporate this into every aspect of life. James 1:22 says, "be doers of the word, and not hearers only; otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves." We are praying without ceasing, and at the same time walking out our study of the Word, when we are being doers of what the Lord tells us to do. It is important to take praying and studying the Word seriously. These two spiritual practices are best implemented into our lives when we make serious considerations to make them a priority. It is wise to wake up or stay up a little bit earlier or later, depending on your situation of course, to be sure to have quiet time to pray to the Lord and study His Word. Setting aside these times and routinely making them a priority will be certain to increase our measure of faith with our walk with Jesus. But, it is also important to be mindful that we ARE praying without ceasing when we are consciously being doers of His Word throughout our day. If you are struggling with making prayer and studying more of a priority, maybe you need to make a forced shift in your routine. Maybe you need to cut some things out that are less important. Perhaps, it is more helpful to set aside time in the morning to start your day communing with the Lord, or maybe you prefer at night after a long day. Either way recommit to making these a priority in your walk. And be encouraged that if you are mindfully being a doer of His word you are constantly praying and walking out your faith! And this is God's will for your life! Love you all! Praying for you and yours! Have a blessed day, it's your choice!
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