a gracious invitation

I've got a confession to make. I'm not very good at praying. Sure, I pray regularly for my church and my family, as well as for those who are sick and in need. I'm a pastor so obviously I do a lot of praying, but I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at it - not like those "prayer warriors" you sometimes see in other churches or on TV. When asked about his prayer life, Frederick Buechner said that it was "meager, random, sporadic, inarticulate, and mostly blubbering". I can relate to that.

That's why passages in the Bible like 1 Thess. 5:17 tend to cause me a bit of consternation. Depending on how you translate it, the verse reads - "Pray continually", "pray constantly", or "pray without ceasing". So does this mean we have to become like monks and get on our knees and pray all day long? Do we have to go online and order our mail order prayer shawls? Do we need to join an organization where a steady stream of volunteers file into prayer rooms to “pray without ceasing” in the hope of Jesus imminent return? I sure hope not.

Let's go back to the text. "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thess. 5:16, 17, 18. When Paul says to rejoice always, he doesn't mean that we have to be happy all the time, but that we can have joy even in the midst of our suffering. When he says to give thanks in all circumstances, he means that no matter what is happening in a given situation, we can have a thankful and grateful disposition toward God. So when it comes to prayer, I think the context of this verse seems to indicate that it is really about an attitude of the heart.

So what does this mean? What does it look like? I think it means having a prayerful spirit. Thinking God's thoughts after Him. Saying back to Him what He first says to us in His Word. Keeping the conversation going with our Creator, Savior, and Friend.

The daily prayer life of the Christian will vary of course from person to person, but these three times of day are a good place to start - morning, meals, and night. Pray the Lord's Prayer and/or Luther's Morning Prayer when you wake up, say a prayer of blessing over your meals during the day, and then pray the Lord's Prayer and/or Luther's Evening Prayer at night, along with whatever personal petitions you may have. Sprinkle in a few psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs throughout the day and you'll be on your way to a fruitful prayer life that will grow as you grow in the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember - Jesus gave His disciples the Lord's Prayer as a gift. It's really our prayer when you think about it. His prayer is the High Priestly Prayer in John 17. Our prayer is the Lord's Prayer - so we shouldn't be afraid to use it early, often, and late.

Here's another reminder - scripture and prayer always go together – like salt and pepper, milk and cookies, peanut butter and jelly. Luther said that when he prayed, he always did so with an open Bible in his hand. It's like breathing – inhaling and exhaling – as God speaks to us in His Word and we speak back to Him what He has said.

Praying continually means always being about the things of God no matter where you are or what is going on around you. Asking, seeking, knocking, thinking, pondering – at work, at home, at church, with the kids, on vacation – all the while knowing who you are and Whose you are in Christ. It's a gracious invitation to enter into the inner intimate life of our loving God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Before the children of Israel entered into the promised land of Canaan, Moses said to them in Deut. 6 - "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."

Moses wasn't instructing the people of Israel to get out their sharpies and face paint. He was reminding them to think about and talk about the words of God all the time – no matter where they were or what they are doing. That's why they needed to be on their hearts and why their children needed to learn them - so that they could recall them when they were far from home – even in a place like Babylon.

We need to be reminded of this today as well. God has given us His Word and the wonderful gift of prayer, so that we might always remember that He is our God and we are His people, and that we can always come to Him at any time to “pray, praise, and give thanks.”

So then, let us indeed rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.

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eyewitness of his majesty

He was an old man. He couldn't hear anymore. He could barely see. His body was broken down after a lifetime of hard work ... from foraging to fishing to fishing for men. Though his body was failing him, his mind was still sharp. He could still remember everything - just like the Master had said.

He remembered ...

- seeing the Master and hearing His voice for the first time along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

- pulling in a big catch of fish at the Master's request - and realizing that this man wasn't just any ordinary man.

- watching Him walk on water and then getting out of the boat and actually doing it himself!

- making a great confession of faith to the Master - "the Christ, the Son of the Living God".

- then enduring a stinging rebuke just a few moments later after trying to keep Him from His mission.

- walking to the top of the mountain with the Master, and along with James and John, and there experiencing something few other human beings have.

- and then, of course, the events of holy week - the arrival, the parade, the temple, the supper, the garden, the betrayal, the arrest, the denial, the trial, the cross.

Actually he didn't remember those last two - the trial and the cross. The others had to tell him about it later. For he had denied knowing his Master, running away in shame and weeping bitterly.

But he did remember Sunday morning! Did he ever! With the arrival of the third day came reports of an empty tomb - and a stone rolled away! "He is not here - He is risen as He said! Go tell His disciples (and Peter) that He is going ahead of you to Galilee - there you will see Him as He said."

There Peter did see Him - and there his life was changed - as he was restored three times for the three times he had denied his Lord. Then came the ascending, and then the sending, and then Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

And now Peter was nearing the end - with one last task to fulfill - one more letter to write. Some of his fellow followers in Asia Minor were starting to give up hope - doubting that the Master would ever return. So Peter reminds them (just as the Helper had reminded him) of all the things the Master had promised, and the faith that each of them had been given.

He begins the letter with grace and peace - gifts that had been given them by God through the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ, their Lord and Master. These gifts imparted divine power that enabled them to "partake in the divine nature", which allowed them to participate in the life and love of God Himself. As they remembered their calling and continued in the faith, He would richly provide for them in this life, and also give them entrance into the eternal kingdom of the life to come.

Peter is reminding them of these things because he knows that his time is short, and he wants them to be able to recall these things when he is gone. So he goes back to one of his most vivid memories - the encounter on the mountain with James and John, Moses and Elijah, when the Master was transformed (metamorphed) into an amazing manifestation of unspeakable brilliance.

Peter is quick to say that he isn't making any of this stuff up. These are not "cleverly invented stories". He and the others had been eyewitnesses to His Majesty. They were there - they saw the shining shekinah glory - they heard the thunderous voice from heaven say, "This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” It was all true – the teachings, the healings, the miracles, all of it.

And more than that, as great as all that was, Peter reminds them of the sure and true Word of God, spoken of and written by the prophets, and now confirmed by the apostles, as "a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts."

Until that great and glorious day, we have God's Holy Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, carried along and written down by men, as a guide to forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life in Christ.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you all in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

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