The Union and Communion of Prayer

4/8 Reading Portions: Leviticus 11-12; Psalm 13-14; Proverbs 26; 1 Thessalonians 5

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4/8 Reading Portions: Leviticus 11-12; Psalm 13-14; Proverbs 26; 1 Thessalonians 5

1 Thessalonians 5:17

pray without ceasing,

BOUNDLESS

Couched in between continual joy (1 Th 5:16) and eternal gratitude (1 Th 5:18) is prayer. Ceaseless prayer is the key to both rejoicing always and giving thanks in all circumstances. Yet what does it mean to do so?

Surely it doesn’t mean for our bodies and minds to be affixed in a place, position, or in the performance of “prayer” as a temporal ritual. We need only look to the life of our Lord Jesus in the gospel accounts to see this in not the case. Jesus prayed privately often; yet when He emerged, He did so with such power and heavenly presence to perform the work of the ministry that it prompted his disciples to beg the Lord to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1).

Prayer is a matter of union and communion. When we pray privately, we commune with the God of all glory. When we bend our hearts and minds in submission to God’s will and His Word, communing with Him in prayer, we are being filled supernaturally with His Way, viz., the person and work of Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Like Jesus, when we emerge from prayer, our engagement in prayer gives way to the effect of prayer; and therefore, we walk united with the person and presence of God, just as Jesus prayed (John 17:21) and John explains (1 Jn 4:12-16).

The open secret to the Christian life and knowing the will of God is devotional before it is doctrinal and dutiful. It is a life of faith, devoted unto Jesus Christ. Doctrine and duty are important; however, they must support faith in Christ and spring from faith in Christ. If it is doctrinal first, we become intellectual snobs. If duty is the priority, we become independent self-reliants. Prayer provides the soul with precious devotional perspective. It bends the knee, as it were, to God’s sovereignty (give thanks in all circumstances, 1 Th 5:18) and boasts with boundless joy in God’s glory (rejoice always, 1 Th 5:16). Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Heavenly Father, may I pray,
Communing with Your love:
To then go forth in such a way
As one born from above.