S8 E20: Prayerfulness

Last week's focus in the Autumn journal was thankfulness and this we are talking about Prayerfulness. 

Are these two things connected?

How can living a life of prayer enable us to live a life of thankfulness?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says

Let joy be your continual feast. Make your life a prayer. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus.

We can read this scripture and acknowledge that is a beautiful thought especially when life is feeling pretty chill. We can read this and feel all warm inside and give a big amen.

But what about the days when life doesn’t feel so chill? And warm and cozy is far from any feeling we are experiencing.

Let’s take a closer look…

The verse starts off with let joy be your continual feast…

What does that even mean you might be thinking hold up… I’m not feeling any joy so how am I going to continually feast on something I don’t even have??

First off when we think about the word joy our mind can go to feeling extreme or abundant happiness. And when we read about joy in the bible we read scripture that tells us “the joy of the lord is my strength” so we are not talking about a superficial kind of feel-good happiness but we are talking about joy that comes from a deep source. The ultimate one true source. A source that doesn’t come from things circumstances or special moments. But a pure undiluted source that isn’t limited to outside conditions or circumstances. And we’re told to feast continually on this joy.

This leads perfectly into how we can make this happen… it tells us to “make your life a prayer”  so what I take from continually feasting and making my life a prayer is that prayer is to be a constant way I live. It’s not something I intend to do when life slows down or that maybe one day I’ll get around to being a person who takes time to pray.

Prayer is simply us connecting and having a conversation with our creator. We were designed to be in communion with him. He is our life source our joy source and when we cut ourselves off from this relationship we feel it…

And not in a good way. 

Some of you might be familiar with Ed and Lisa Young who pastor Fellowship church in Texas. They’ve just released a book called “A Path Through Pain” which is about the death of their young adult daughter Lee Beth. The book just came out and I saw they were having a special night of worship and prayer this week and they have been sharing pictures and different things this week.  It was such a powerful sight to watch both of them on the front row lifting their hands in worship and in surrender. I can’t imagine the loss they have experienced and they have been very open about this journey of walking through the pain and loss and yet…they talk about joy in the midst of the heartache and the heartbreak. Lisa has shared journal pages of prayers and testifies of the joy and strength that she has and continues to receive from God along this path of pain.

Life is hard and we all experience loss in different ways. 

But here’s what I do know and am so very thankful for

At any moment you can take a deep breath and take in the goodness of all that God is and rise above any chaos and uncertainty you might be facing.

This is living a life of prayer friend.