The Thing We Must Always Do - Encouragement Café - December 23, 2016

 

The Thing We Must Always Do
By Jill Beran
Friday, December 23, 2016

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV    

It had been a rough week:  children who didn’t obey and plans that fell apart, work that was never done and somebody always needing me. After a few days I found myself discouraged, overwhelmed and a bit exhausted.

I’d been reading my Bible and spending time with God, but it was constantly interrupted and I grew increasingly frustrated.  Finally, I cried out to God,

What can I do?

He gently whispered a familiar verse to me,

Pray without ceasing.

This was a verse I’d heard often, but one I didn’t practice repeatedly.

I’ll admit one of my initial thoughts was:  I don’t need one more thing to do. But God combated it and reminded me that as a Mom, I’m always doing more than one thing! 

This was not a task He was adding to my to-do list, but an instruction that I must put into practice.

As I sat and thought about this, the Holy Spirit kept speaking to my heart.

Jill, it’s hard to listen to Satan when you are talking with God. Listening to lies won’t be so easy when you are constantly reminding yourself of Truth.

Those “benefits” prompted me to heed God’s direction, so I decided to unpack a verse I had memorized, but rarely lived.

In simple terms this verse means - NEVER STOP PRAYING! I realized never is a long time and stopping is something that can be easy to do, so God took me to my knees to do the one thing I must always do.

I shared my heart with Him and confessed my sin to Him. I committed to living out this verse and God quickly whispered,

Don’t strive for perfection, I just want perseverance.

Those words lifted a load and reminded me that this isn’t something I will do on my own, so I continued in prayer asking Him to help me do what He commands.

Friend, if we are praying when our child disobeys, we’ll respond in love, not anger.  If we’re talking to God when things don‘t go like we expect, He’ll remind us that sometimes our plans fall apart so His can come together. 

When we pray without ceasing, God constantly makes His presence known.

Today I encourage you to take some time and quit multi-tasking so you can sit with Him quietly. 

Ask Him to give you the desire to never stop praying. Then move ahead with your day and try to do just that.  He will be faithful to prick your heart and lead you to pray. 

In the moments when life takes over and you fall short, receive the grace He gives and start again. 

Dear Heavenly Father, I’m grateful for the opportunity to come to You now.  Thank You for drawing me near and speaking to my heart.  Help me know I don’t have to go to a special place or wait for a certain time for this to happen, I can pray anywhere and at anytime!  Thank You!  I ask for a desire to pray more and long for the day when I truly pray without ceasing.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

© 2016 by Jill Beran. All rights reserved.

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Originally published Friday, 23 December 2016.

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