Skip to main content

Devotional 5.9.25

 

May 9, 2025 – Pray Without Ceasing

 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Scripture Reading: Psalm 69

You may notice the italicized word, Selah, is subtly right justified at various places in many of the psalms. Selah is typically thought to indicate a pause, or point of rest or reflection in the text. It can serve as a musical or liturgical cue to stop and contemplate the preceding text or verse. David is crying out to God to save him in Psalm 69, which doesn’t have any Selah’s noted. This is how our loving, relational, intimate God invites us to come to him. As Paul reminded the church in Thessalonica – pray without ceasing. We don’t have to pause, or wait to have it all together, our doubts diminished, or burdens gone before crying out and being held in our Lord’s loving, gracious arms.

The first song we’ll sing together on Sunday is “This I Believe,” which is a profession of what we believe about the Trinity. The Godhead, Three-in-one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, allows us to run to Him without pause. “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery” reminds us that Jesus came to us in frail humanity. In other words, he gets us (Hebrews 4:15-16). In “All I Have is Christ” we sing Hallelujah for the love displayed on the cross. We’ll hear “Your Labor is Not in Vain.” Whatever your daily calling is – wife, mother, husband, father, missionary, CEO, medical professional, student, accountant, server, caregiver – you have been called by name, your labor is not in vain, and Jesus is with you. Finally, “Lamb of God” is another reminder of how much Jesus loves you (Rom. 5:8).

Further reading: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11; Matthew 11:25-30; Mark 10:13-16; Romans 15:13

Reflection Questions:

1.     What are some of the things that make you pause, or hold back, from authentically praying without ceasing?

2.     Do you think of your routine, daily calling as being important kingdom work? Why or why not?

Prayer:

Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me and inviting me to come to you, to pray without ceasing and pour my heart out to you. Thank you for being a relational and intimate God who took on flesh in the person of Jesus so that through his life, death and resurrection I can be in your presence for eternity. Help me to live my daily life, the ways that you’ve called me, faithfully in response to these truths.

A playlist of this week's worship songs can be found here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devotional.1.5.25

Devotional on   Ephesians 2:4–7, Psalm 51 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus  (Eph. 2:4-7) .   This Sunday we will gather for the first time of this New Year, 2025 and will be returning to our sermon series  Psalms: Heart, Soul, and Mind , beginning with Psalm 51. The New Year brings an opportunity for new beginnings, new goals, and a sense of a fresh start. Psalm 51 is a great chapter to focus on in the beginning of a new year because it is a prayer of repentance, confession, and praise. David, having been convicted of his sin with Bathsheba, pours out his heart to God, asking for forgiveness and mercy. He recognizes...
Post a Comment
Read more

Devotional. 1.10.25

  Devotional on  Hebrews 3:1-3, Psalm 52   Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,   2  who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house.   3  For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.    This Sunday we will continue in our sermon series  Psalms: Heart, Soul, and Mind  with Psalm 52. As I was reading this psalm, with the lyrics of our morning worship songs playing in my head, I was struck by the awareness of choice. David is writing during a very difficult and dangerous time, and yet chooses worship instead of despair.    God gave us the gift of free will, the ability to make choices and to have discernment. Many of us have started 2025 with goals, or resolutions. How are...
Post a Comment
Read more

Devotional 4.25.25

Grace Received, Grace Shared Ephesians 2:8–10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.   Scripture Reading: Psalm 66   Ephesians 2:8–10 reminds us that our salvation is purely a gift of grace—not earned, but given, so that no one may boast. We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to live lives of purpose, filled with good works prepared by Him. Psalm 67 echoes this theme, celebrating God’s mercy and blessing so that His ways may be known throughout the earth. As we come to the Lord’s Table on Sunday, we remember we are saved by grace and sent by grace. Communion is not just a remembrance of Christ’s death—it’s also a recommissioning to live out the grace we've received, that all nations might rejoice in God’s saving power through our ...
Post a Comment
Read more