Unceasing Rejoicing, Prayer & Thanksgiving Series

1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18

UNCEASING REJOICING, PRAYER & THANKSGIVING

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Our passage is a series of brief, staccato commands for Christian living. It contains three imperative or forceful commands directing our attitudes and actions if we would live in God’s will. Do you know what is God’s will for you? Paul succinctly defines it as praying without ceasing, giving thanks in everything and rejoicing always. These are inner attitudes that Christians can daily choose by yielding to the Spirit until they become abiding and constant.

These brief but pointed admonitions in our passage hold for us the secret of a peaceful heart amid the turmoil and clamor of a hectic world. The instructions of these verses are to be woven into our daily life until the become part of the very fabric of who we are. Rejoicing, praying, and thanking should all be facets of our continuous daily attitude and life.

I. ALWAYS JOYFUL, 5:16.

II. ALWAYS PRAYERFUL, 5:17.

III. ALWAYS THANKFUL, 5:18.

The first attitude listed in verse 16 that the Holy Spirit creates in yielding believers is supernatural joy. “Rejoice always,

A result of continual yielding to Christ is the spiritual fruit of joy (Gal. 5:21). This daily living in Christ enables us to rejoice always, even when we are unhappy. And this rejoicing in Christ is something we can choose to have, whatever the tone of our feelings. It really becomes a matter of obedience. Christian joy is not bound by circumstances or hindered by difficulties. When the believer surrenders daily to live for Christ the Holy Spirit creates a supernatural joy, a shalom or wellness of soul that is not usurped by adversity or affliction (2 Cor. 4:16-18). Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). In Christ we not only have joy, but the enabling to be more and more joyful. As Paul commanded the Philippians, “Rejoice in the Lord always, Again I say rejoice!”

II. ALWAYS PRAYERFUL

The second attitude of this spiritual development is in verse 17 where we are command to live in spiritual communion with Christ. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, ...”

This frequently misunderstood verse does not mean that one is to be praying every minute, nor does it necessarily call for an individual’s maintaining always an attitude of prayer (Luke 11:1). Some believe the verse insist upon an uninterrupted practice of prayer regarding all matters. Obviously, to pray without ceasing means something other than constantly saying prayers, or the command is an impossibility. J. B. Lightfoot clarifies this point in his oft quoted “it is not in the moving of the lips, but in the elevation of the heart to God, that the essence of prayer consists.” But having made the distinction between saying prayers and praying with the heart, the question of unceasing prayer demands deeper reflection. To pray without ceasing establishes prayer, not as a part of the Christian life, but as all of it. [To pray day and night, in good times and in bad, without cessation or interruption, is not the experience of most people I know. Is this just a high ideal to be achieved by a few spiritual super athletes, or is it within the reach of ordinary folks like us?]

How do I pray without ceasing? The discipline of unceasing prayer to me means nothing less than practicing the presence of God in everything that we do. I wish I could tell you that I’ve achieved this in daily practice. I haven’t, but I’m growing, and I’ve been helped by Henri Nouwen. Nouwen encourages the goal of converting our unceasing thinking into unceasing communion or prayer. This fellowship does not mean that we learn to direct our minds constantly to God. It means, rather, “to think and live in the presence of God” (Henri Nouwen, Clowning in Rome (New York: Image Books, 1979. p. 70). This continual awareness of God’s presence means to live with a growing awareness that God is always present with you. It is to grow in our openness to God—to bring consciously all of our life into His presence, (including our feelings, thoughts, words & deeds). [Think of the analogy of love. When one is truly in love with another, there is an unceasing awareness of the other.] This awareness does not mean that we are consciously engaged in thinking of God, but an awareness that the presence of God is with us constantly.

All our life is to be oriented around and lived in fellowship with God’s Spirit. Such a constant awareness will require certain disciplines of devotion or prayer. You begin by dying to self by the power of the cross. Then you present yourself to God’s Presence, to love and worship Him, to offer all you are are, or doing or bearing to Him & placing your mind, body, soul & strength at His feet. [The 17th century French writer Francois Fénelon wrote about it also.] Daily periods of intentional prayer, reflection, & meditation are essential to establish the climate of unceasing prayer for the rest of the day. Daily Scripture reading also is well established as an essential discipline if we would walk in the Spirit. It is also helpful to begin each day with a prayer to be consciously constantly in Jesus’ presence during the day. [Nouwen found the daily Eucharist, a practice perhaps all too foreign to us Protestants, as essential to the climate of prayer in his life.] [Demarest, G. W., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1984). 1, 2 Thessalonians / 1, 2 Timothy / Titus (Vol. 32, pp. 97-99). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.] By the Spirit of God we can train ourselves to maintain an awareness of the Lord’s Presence with us throughout the day and talk w/ Him as we are able. The discipline of unceasing prayer means nothing less than practicing the presence of God in us and in everything that we do. [More about Unceasing Prayer can be found in My book, Without Ceasing, Dennis Davidson from Amazon.com/books]