Devotional: I Thessalonians 5:16-18
Posted by David Ketter on November 15, 2002
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
In these verses, Paul the Apostle encourages us to basically perform the impossible. Who in the entire race of men could “be joyful always?” Even our Lord, during his ministry here on Earth, wasn’t like that! He wept as he faced bad times, just like the rest of us. But yet, we must try.
Next, we are admonished to “pray continually.” Does that mean that we should pray while we work and play? By all means, YES!!!! We should always be in constant conversation with God. We all have some excuse as to why we don’t pray all the time, but ultimately, we are accountable to God. So, we should always be talking to God, even more when we’re busy.
The final part of this Scripture is probably even harder than the first two. You maybe thinking as you’re reading this on how we can ‘give thanks in all circumstances.’ Of course it is easy to thank God when things are going well for us. When we’re happy, we want to thank God. Who feels like thanking God when times are BAD? In some cases, people are thankful that the situation didn’t turn out as bad as it could have. However, we need to be thankful in every circumstance, even at its worst.
At this point, you probably feel pretty powerless and incapable of fulfilling these commands from the mouth of God. Do not worry, but be of good cheer! Remember what is said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” God will not abandon you when you most need him because he himself said in Joshua 1:5, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Who could doubt the promises of Almighty God?
Let us go over this list again. We are instructed to “be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Put these items on a mental checklist and think about it. Are you always joyful, always praying, or always thanking God? . Now, look at the holes in that mental checklist and see what you can improve on. If you are like me, everything needs improvement. Let’s start improving now!
stephen said
I disagree that you always have to be in constant conversation with God. I am a student in school and I can not imagine how I could be in conversation with God while taking a test. I am sorry but I believe that you are taking a legalistic view on the Word.
David Ketter said
Stephen:
Students somehow find means of texting, using non-verbal communication, and a variety of other forms to communicate with other humans, even in the context of the classroom. Somehow I doubt it’s impossible to be in conversation with God unceasingly.
And I would be a bit more careful about waving the term “legalism” around. Ask a few of my friends what I think about legalism and fundamentalism and you might get concerns that I’m too liberal or borderline orthodox in regards to those sorts of areas. My intent, even SIX years ago, was not to be legalistic, but to encourage people to pursue the very thing we were made for: to know God and commune with Him.
Stephen Blatt said
I agree that students get the phone and flip it up to text every now and then in the middle of the test, but texting someone only takes about 30 seconds, it doesn’t mean that students are texting at the EXACT same time as they were taking the test. Were you praying to God as you wrote that reply to me? Because I seriously doubt that you could think that well if you were.
David Ketter said
Stephen:
I’m not talking about the time that’s involved in terms of texting, etc. I’m talking about the fact that people do that almost effortlessly. And, believe it or not, I was conversing with God as I wrote that response – asking Him to give me wisdom and praising Him that even after almost six years, something I wrote is still challenging people in their walk with Christ. And right now, I’m praying for forgiveness and the grace to overcome my sin. Prayer is not something super-spiritual…it is done even in the way we live our lives. Romans 12:1
God bless,
David
Stephen Blatt said
I like how you said, “Prayer is not something super-spiritual…it is done even in the way we live our lives”. I like that because I agree. I think what God meant is that we don’t always have to be talking to God as in, speaking to Him with out minds. For me, right now, it is impossible for me to be in conversation with God while I’m writing this. I have to stop writing, pray, then come back to it. I honestly think that we can, as you said, pray by the way we live our lives. Or just even a quick thought. I don’t know, I’m just the type to worry about things like this. I tend to think “Uh-oh, I’m not praying right now, am I sinning?” So I stop to pray, “God, please help me to live my life for you more and gain more knowledge from you”. After that, “Uh-oh, I stopped praying, I need to pray again”. And I just can’t pray that much. It would take me away from life, I couldn’t function if I was in a conversation with God at all times. If I was talking to my friend and talking to God about a whole different topic, I’d just go insane. I like how you are trying to figure out what God said, but I just seriously doubt that God meant that we have to constantly be in conversation with Him in our minds. He meant that we should never give up on prayer. Never stop praying because you get bored of it. In heaven we’ll be able to actually accomplish this feat, because we do not have things that need to be done in heaven. I need to do my homework, my chores, my work, and while I’m doing these things I need concentration. I do not know how you live your life if you are constantly praying to God. Unless, like you said, you pray by the way you live, I can understand that.
God bless you too, and may He show us both the truth
Stephen