“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 ESV
1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 ESV
Dear Friends,
Last week, on May 3rd, it was my Dad’s birthday. I was unable to travel to celebrate with him, but I have been thinking of him quite a bit. One of my last conversations with my Dad before he stopped talking went something like this:
Me: Hey, Dad, how are you today? Do you know who I am?
Dad: Yeah, Yeah, I know.
Me: Okay, well, who am I?
Dad: I know. Yeah, Yeah, I know.
He thought about it for a minute, and then he lifted his hand and started praying a prayer of blessing.
My Dad may no longer be able to say my name, but his sweet mind associates me with prayer. I guess there are definitely worse things that I could be remembered for! My parents were both people of prayer and are the ones that taught my brother and me to pray.
May 3rd was also the National Day of Prayer. This is a time when we come together to pray for our nation. I don’t know about you, but I definitely think our nation could use a lot of prayer for so many reasons, too many to name here. There is nothing like the power of prayer to cause transformation.
Most of us know about intercessory prayer. Often in Christian circles, we share prayer requests and praises. However, intercessory prayer is not the only type of prayer nor is it the only reason to pray. Here are some of the main types of prayers:
ADORATION and PRAISE Prayers: Praising God. God’s majesty is more than we can imagine, and we should take time to appreciate Him in all His glory, just appreciate Him for who He is.
CONFESSION Prayer: We admit that we need God and ask Him for forgiveness for our sins.
THANKSGIVING Prayers: We thank God for all He has done and for answers to prayers.
SUPPLICATION or PETITION Prayers: We ask God for something.
INTERCESSION Prayers: We pray for someone else.
Prayer is not just a one-sided conversation. Too often, we do all of the talking, but we don’t take the time to just listen. The Apostle Paul spoke quite a bit about prayer. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, Paul tells us to rejoice and to pray without ceasing. While we should have dedicated times set aside for prayer, prayers should also be like on-going conversations as we go about our daily life. Paul also warns us not to “quench the Spirit”. I think, in general, we overlook the role and power of the Holy Spirit. Whether we acknowledge it or not, God is always active in our lives and the lives of others through the Holy Spirit.
For Jesus, prayer was not just a religious responsibility; prayer saturated His whole life and being. He prayed before each decision, miracle, temptation, and response. In prayer, Jesus allowed God to work through Him. Jesus often prayed in solitude. His prayer life demonstrated a deep intimate relationship and dependency on God the Father.
Prayer is a relationship. God not only invites us into a prayer relationship with Him, but through prayer, we invite God to work in our daily lives. We are transformed into being more like Christ as our intimacy and dependency on God increases. God invites us to prayer, so that we can experience transformation and intimate relationship with Him.
We need to be a praying people.
Until next we meet,
Pastor Jessi
Last week, on May 3rd, it was my Dad’s birthday. I was unable to travel to celebrate with him, but I have been thinking of him quite a bit. One of my last conversations with my Dad before he stopped talking went something like this:
Me: Hey, Dad, how are you today? Do you know who I am?
Dad: Yeah, Yeah, I know.
Me: Okay, well, who am I?
Dad: I know. Yeah, Yeah, I know.
He thought about it for a minute, and then he lifted his hand and started praying a prayer of blessing.
My Dad may no longer be able to say my name, but his sweet mind associates me with prayer. I guess there are definitely worse things that I could be remembered for! My parents were both people of prayer and are the ones that taught my brother and me to pray.
May 3rd was also the National Day of Prayer. This is a time when we come together to pray for our nation. I don’t know about you, but I definitely think our nation could use a lot of prayer for so many reasons, too many to name here. There is nothing like the power of prayer to cause transformation.
Most of us know about intercessory prayer. Often in Christian circles, we share prayer requests and praises. However, intercessory prayer is not the only type of prayer nor is it the only reason to pray. Here are some of the main types of prayers:
ADORATION and PRAISE Prayers: Praising God. God’s majesty is more than we can imagine, and we should take time to appreciate Him in all His glory, just appreciate Him for who He is.
CONFESSION Prayer: We admit that we need God and ask Him for forgiveness for our sins.
THANKSGIVING Prayers: We thank God for all He has done and for answers to prayers.
SUPPLICATION or PETITION Prayers: We ask God for something.
INTERCESSION Prayers: We pray for someone else.
Prayer is not just a one-sided conversation. Too often, we do all of the talking, but we don’t take the time to just listen. The Apostle Paul spoke quite a bit about prayer. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, Paul tells us to rejoice and to pray without ceasing. While we should have dedicated times set aside for prayer, prayers should also be like on-going conversations as we go about our daily life. Paul also warns us not to “quench the Spirit”. I think, in general, we overlook the role and power of the Holy Spirit. Whether we acknowledge it or not, God is always active in our lives and the lives of others through the Holy Spirit.
For Jesus, prayer was not just a religious responsibility; prayer saturated His whole life and being. He prayed before each decision, miracle, temptation, and response. In prayer, Jesus allowed God to work through Him. Jesus often prayed in solitude. His prayer life demonstrated a deep intimate relationship and dependency on God the Father.
Prayer is a relationship. God not only invites us into a prayer relationship with Him, but through prayer, we invite God to work in our daily lives. We are transformed into being more like Christ as our intimacy and dependency on God increases. God invites us to prayer, so that we can experience transformation and intimate relationship with Him.
We need to be a praying people.
Until next we meet,
Pastor Jessi
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