Rejoice Always, Pray Continually, Give Thanks In All Circumstances
Joy In The Lord Is Your Strength
1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV
https://www.bible.com/114/1th.5.16-18.nkjv
Obviously, we cannot spend our whole time on our knees in prayer, but it is possible to have a prayerful attitude at all times.
This attitude comes from one’s dependence on God, one’s faith in Him, and the decision to obey Him fully and joyfully, and by involving Him in everything we do. It is more than simply involving Him, but putting aside our goals and projects to serve, and submitting to His will and instruction above all else, while continually building our relationship with Him through prayer.
Then, just like walking with a friend, we naturally continue in spontaneous conversation with God. Conversation means not only to speak, but to listen too. We hear God through many ways; His word, dreams, visions, and from within, intuition, like a gut feeling. God speaks in many ways and we must remain open and receptive to Him.
At times, when troubles fall upon us, we can find it difficult to hear God or pray, especially when one has made a mistake or fallen into sin.
But the truth is, it is at those times we need to pray more.
The devil is quick to use our failures to put a wall between us and God, telling us how useless we are and reminding us of our mistakes. But the truth is, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (ROMANS 8:38-39), and our debt is paid in full, all our past, present, and future sin has been washed away by Jesus’ blood from the moment we fully commit our lives to the Lord.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1 NKJV
Therefore, my beloved, the next time the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.
Our joyful attitude and thankfulness should not fluctuate with our emotions or circumstance.
Joy in the Lord is your strength (NEHEMIAH 8:10), but joy in Christ can only come from spending quality time with Him, building relationship with Him, and knowing how awesome and trustworthy He really is.
Prayer and worship are our weapons of mass destruction, and assembly brings victory over the devil and his evil schemes, and over all the troubles we face day to day, whether bought by the devil or through our own foolishness.
Sin let’s the devil in, but repentance kicks him out.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
James 4:7-10 NKJV
To resist the devil is to verbally rebuke and push him back with your words of command. It is to call him out and command him to leave. It is then that he will flee from you.
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
John 8:34-36 NKJV
Free from the bondage of sin and Satan’s grip to live life to the full and serve God more and more powerfully by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
But “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:1-5 NKJV
Jesus said, ““Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
John 14:12-14 NKJV
All you need do is ask, believe, receive, and say thank You.
All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
