A Prayerful Life

16Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

The Bible has much Scripture that encourages us to seek God through prayer.  The Gospels and the Epistles are particularly filled with Holy Scripture that encourages us to seek God’s face through prayer.   Our direct line of communication to God is prayer.  It is a deeply personal process by which we bring Him our prayers of thanksgiving and supplication.  We go into our inner room and pray to our loving Father with full confidence that He hears us and will act on our behalf in the perfect manner and time.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 calls us to “pray continually” and other translations will indicate “without ceasing.”  I don’t think we are expected to spend all of our life on our knees in prayer.  I do feel

 that we can and should lead a prayerful life.  This includes having a prayerful attitude.  Look at the context of “pray continually” in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  The Scripture begins with “Rejoice always” and then tells us how by “pray continually.”  It concludes by giving the reason: “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

A prayerful life has two fundamental components.  First, we are constantly aware of the many blessings that we have because of Him.  Second, we are able to be grateful in any circumstance.  We are not grateful for all circumstances because some circumstances are evil and not from God.  However, just as Paul was able to find joy while shipwrecked or in prison, we can find joy in our adversity because we wait with child-like anticipation of how He will use it for good.

A prayerful attitude is developed by acknowledging our dependence on God (Proverbs 3:5-6), realizing He is always with us (Isaiah 41:10), and choosing to trust and obey (Psalm 9:10).  Prayer then becomes a continual process of offloading our fears and worries and uploading His love and grace.  In a prayerful life, we put God first not out of obligation or fear but out of faith and love.  Matthew 6:33 instructs us to, “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness.”  If we do put God first, then He will surely give us His provision and protection as the good Father.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you for the gift of prayer and the comfort of knowing that you hear all of our prayers.  We thank you for the comfort of knowing that you desire greater things for us than we can ever imagine.  Help us to develop a deeper sense of appreciation for our blessings.  Keep us mindful that we can find joy in all circumstances because we know that any adversity we face on earth is temporary and will be used by you for our good.  Help us to always prayerfully proceed in life and seek your kingdom first in all that we do.  Amen.

Meet the Author

Todd Shupe is a Men’s Ministry Specialist through the General Commission of United Methodist Men and is in training to be a Certified Lay Minister through the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the President of the Baton Rouge District of United Methodist Men and is a Board Member for Gulf South Men and serves on the Action Team for The Kingdom Group. He is a volunteer for the Walk to Emmaus, Grace Camp, and Iron Sharpens Iron. Todd resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

We welcome your comments below.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Thank you for visiting. We trust that you have enjoyed reading our articles.

Liked this post?

Read more below or search for more topics...

  • Are You Patiently or Impatiently Waiting on God?

    Are You Patiently or Impatiently Waiting on God? “Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!” (Psalm 27:14 NKJV).According to the website Brainboost.com, the average person will spend 10 years standing in line over their lifetime.  I wonder how much time will be added on if they factored in waiting on the phone, waiting for a movie to start, or one of my favorite past times – waiting on God.The Bible is full of stories of those who waited on God to move.  Joseph waited over 13 years before...
  • Embrace Your Pain

    Embrace Your Pain “I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death” (Psalm 88:3 NIV). We have all experienced pain and loss.  Yours may be different from mine but all pain is real and raw.  I think it is hard for most of us to consider pain as pure joy.  Scripture sets a high standard for us in this regard.  “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).We...
  • The Walk to Emmaus: The Best Spiritual Weekend Retreat

    The Walk to Emmaus: The Best Spiritual Weekend Retreat "When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:30-32 NIV). The Walk to Emmaus “Walk” is a three-day spiritual retreat that came out of the Roman Catholic Cursillo movement. The Walk to Emmaus is held numerous times during...