Episode Transcript
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always;
17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I used to be a very pessimistic and cynical person. I questioned everyone’s motives all the time. I didn’t believe in Jesus. I acted like I was the smartest person in every room. Though I had a lot of good things in my life—a loving family, parents who cared about me, a job, and a car—I rarely took the time to be thankful for those things because I was too busy focusing on everything that was wrong in the world and in my life. I’ve discovered that there are many people living life this way. Even in the church, where we should be filled with hope and optimism about the work of Jesus, I often hear conversations that sound a little more spiritual than they do outside the church walls, “Jesus is coming back soon! Things are getting so bad in the world, and the Bible tells us things will get really bad right before Jesus returns.” That’s just worldly pessimism wrapped in religious language. Look at Paul’s instruction for the church.
“Rejoice always;” That’s the opposite of being pessimistic or primarily noticing what is bad in the world. Pessimism and cynicism are attitudes of worldly people. Christians live such that we are always rejoicing. To always rejoice literally means to never stop proclaiming the joy that is welled up within us. Perhaps you’ve heard it put this way, “Count your blessings.” Work through the bad, but spend your time focusing on the good. Count your many blessings, name them one-by-one. The Christian hope, that Jesus came to save the world and not condemn it, has historically given Christians a great optimism about the world Jesus loves. That is why Paul instructs the church to rejoice always.
Then, he writes, “pray without ceasing;” You start to see this theme in these three verses, “always,” “without ceasing,” like these things are to be part of our overall lifestyles, not things we visit every now and then when we feel a need to be closer to God. Rejoicing and prayer are the heartbeat of the Christian life at all times. We rejoice when we exhale and pray when we inhale. Every breath, a praise. What exactly is prayer, and how do we pray without ceasing?
We tend to get super spiritual when we talk about prayer, especially in church. We say that prayer is communicating with God. This is true, but we always try to clarify that we don’t want to ask God for too much or that prayer isn’t asking God for stuff. I want to do a word study with you. ευχομαι, the Greek word translated into “pray” here in English is used a lot in the Bible. In the Septuagint, it is used primarily when people ask God for things, dedicate priests, or intercede for others. Consider Exodus 8:9,
Moses said to Pharaoh, “The honor is yours to tell me: when shall I entreat (εὔξωμαι) for you and your servants and your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, that they may be left only in the Nile?”
Prayer meant Moses asking God to remove the frogs from Egypt, even interceding on Pharaoh’s behalf. Virtually every use of this word in the Septuagint is similar to this one. Surprisingly, prayer never referred to people listening to God, rejoicing, or giving thanks. It always referred to people entreating or petitioning God for something or on someone else’s behalf. I find this interesting because it’s not typically how I think about prayer. I always feel weird about asking God for stuff. Consider the New Testament in Mark 11:24,
Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray (προσεύχεσθε ) and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.
Jesus talked about prayer like there is something to be granted after the prayer. Pray with faith, and you will receive. Israel had all these official prayers that sounded very holy. When Jesus talked with the Father, there was something special and different about it—such that He taught people not to pray like the Pharisees and Scribes. Jesus instructed people to pray like this:
8 “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 “Pray (προσευχεσθε), then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ (Matthew 6:8-13).
The whole prayer is asking God for stuff. Let Your name be holy. Please bring Your kingdom to the Earth. Have Your will on the Earth as it is already done in Heaven. Please provide the things we need. Please forgive us. Please deliver us from temptation and evil.
I’ve come to believe that prayer is explicitly us asking God for things. In 1 Thessalonians 5, prayer is distinct from both rejoicing and giving thanks, so it refers to something that is not rejoicing or giving thanks. It refers to asking God for the desires of our hearts and interceding for others. I believe God wants to give His children the desires of their hearts. Or, does Scripture say for no reason,
4 Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).
and,
7 “aAsk, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
10 “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:7-11)!
When we want something, we often don’t ask God because we think it may be unspiritual to ask Him for something. I believe God wants to be our first point of contact about things we desire. A child who loves his father always goes to his father asking for things he wants without batting an eye. I don’t know about other fathers, but I always feel great when my son comes to me asking for things or sharing his problems no matter how childish I think those things are. Maybe we should have more the kind of faith children have when it comes to asking things from our Father in Heaven. We don’t have to feel sheepish. We don’t have to feel like a burden. We don’t have to think we are an inconvenience. God wants us to come with our requests. If they aren’t good for us, He won’t grant them. I believe He wants to give His children the desires of their hearts. He cannot be overburdened. He has unlimited resources. So, ask God freely without ceasing. It is not unspiritual to do so.
Finally, give thanks in everything. I believe this means to be thankful in all circumstances, but look at the context. Be thankful in the admonishing, encouragement, help, patience, justice, and in seeking the good of others. Be thankful for what you already have and all the opportunities afforded you because it is good.
Proclaim your joy at all times,
Never stop asking God for your desires, and
Give thanks in everything.
I think Paul covered all His bases, there—every when, where, and why. This is God’s will for you in Christ. This is what God wants for you in your life. I believe He takes great joy in blessing us and seeing us happy—like a good father is blessed by the joy of his children.
