Pray continually

https://odb.org/2024/10/11/pray-always

As parents, we occasionally get that phone call from our sons telling us about the milestones in their lives. Like the day my elder son received his UK skilled worker visa after he and his employer each had invested substantial sums to apply for it. Or when my second son felt he had messed up one of the questions in his exam paper or he was relieved having done well in his Maths paper. As Ivan is working in a fintech and running a small online business, he is very busy. He usually calls us during his lunch time (our dinner time in Malaysia) on his way home to send out deliveries for his customers or to take delivery of his own stock purchases from the concierge of his apartment building. Contemporary telecommunication advancements have enabled inter-continental voice and video calls at the price of a broadband subscription, unlike the prohibitive ISDN or fixed line calls of the past.

Similarly, we may want to give thanks to God for certain milestones in our lives. Or even for more mundane stuff, like having completed a draft of a document for the client or having closed a transaction.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16, Paul exhorts us to: 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

It can only be good for our spiritual life if we maintain constant contact with the Lord in prayer as we rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. Even when something bad occurs, we still give thanks to God for preserving our lives that we may live to serve Him another day. We live to fight another battle next time. Constant communication keeps us close with God, like with our sons, despite Ivan, my elder one, living thousands of miles away. We will still miss doing things together, but at least we could speak to him and see him in video calls.

The message this morning is to pray continually, having constant communication with our Lord. In terms of attitude, rejoice always and give thanks for all that we are going through, good or bad, happy or sad. God always has a purpose for the happenings in our lives. Put our trust in Him that He will make all things good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).