Sunday: Praying and Thanksgiving
Motivated by news that believers in Ephesus are thriving in faith toward Jesus and in love toward each other (perhaps news shared by Tychicus, Ephesians 6:21-22), Paul reports to them how he prays for them.
Compare Paul’s two prayer reports in Ephesians — Ephesians 1:15-23 and Ephesians 3:14-21. What themes do the two reports share?
Image © Erik Stenbakken at Goodsalt.com
Sometimes our default tone in prayer can be doleful, mourning over this challenge or that problem. Paul’s prayer reports in Ephesians suggest that thanksgiving is the native language of prayer. We gather up the blessings of God and thank Him for them. We seek to perceive God at work in difficult circumstances and praise Him for His transforming presence in our lives. Celebrating the grace and power of the exalted Jesus (Ephesians 1:20-23), we thank Him for blessing those in our circle of influence. Here is Paul’s transforming secret for prayer: prayer is the key of praise and thanksgiving.
Paul also said that he does “not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:16, NKJV; see also Philippians 1:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
What does it really mean to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)? It cannot mean that we are always kneeling before God in prayer. It does mean that, blessed by God’s Spirit, we move through life with hearts open to the presence and power of God, seeking cues for thanksgiving to Him. It means a readiness to process the issues of life in the presence of God, to seek divine counsel as we experience the twists and turns that life brings. It means living not in estrangement from God but in engagement with Him, ever open to divine leading.
We too often view prayer as a nicety, an add-on to discipleship that is to be exercised when convenient. Paul illustrates a different view. Paul takes seriously the task of praying for the believers in Ephesus, doing so both by giving thanks for them (Ephesians 1:16; compare Ephesians 1:3-14) and by interceding for them (Ephesians 1:17-23; compare Ephesians 3:14-21). For him, prayer is a central, or even the central, task of Christian faith. These verses provide a moving call to prayer, an invitation for each of us to consider our own “prayer ministry” in the light of Paul’s dedication to it.
| Why is it important always to thank God in prayer for what you have to be thankful for? |
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When I first studied computer science most computers had one processor. You gave it a job. It did it. And then it sat around doing nothing until you gave it another job. Then someone had the bright idea that you could get the computer to use that waiting by doing other jobs. The idea developed until we had multi-tasking where a number of jobs could be done more-or-less at the same time, even though we had only one processor. And so today, I am writing this on a computer with 8CPUs 10 GPUs and a neural network and it is doing a heap of jobs all at once, some of them I don't even know about.
We can multitask! (Carmel tells me that women are better at this than men, but I am not so sure she is right on this one.) My point is that our spiritual and secular lives can be intertwined and interact together. I like to think of prayer as conversation. And, just as we can walk and talk at the same time (Yep, that is multitasking), so we can work and pray at the same time. Furthermore, more than one other person can join in the conversation.
You are a blessed man. This is a simplified and practical approach to weave prayer into our lives.
Glory to God
We are to be thankful always.This does not mean only in good times,even when facing bad and unpleasant times and our minds clouded with pain,we should thank God for that situation.This will remove our focus from the challenges which we are facing and direct it to God.
Be thankful in all circumstances.
Those who are praying without ceasing are staying connected to Jesus because they are seeing all the wonders of God and continuing in thanksgiving and praise. As we concentrate on God's love in all His goodness that surrounds us, we cannot help but be joyful. I laugh when trials come, because I know who my Savior is. To me, it is a time to exercise my faith in Him and see Him guide me through my troubles. This also brings joy! Through communication with Jesus all day long, I can walk in the Spirit within and hear His voice. You gotta love our God who cares for us like nobody else can. Let our praise continue throughout our days.
My children are so happy because they just found out they get to babysit our friend’s dog one more day due to an illness in the family. Their joy is an inspiration and makes me think about the joy and thanksgiving that Paul must have had as he wrote to the Ephesians.
Unceasing prayer also includes time spent apart from our everyday life. Quality time, I have heard it referred to.
And yes, a portion of continuous prayer is multitasking it with our daily activities.
Another part of praying always, is letting God speak through nature, and through recognizing His loving protection, guidance, and meeting our needs large and small, which turns us to thankfulness to God to further our comuncation with Him.
Eph.1:17-21 – v.17-18 “…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give to you the ‘Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation’ in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; ..”
Eph.3:16-19 - ”… to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all fullness of God.”
To me, ‘praying without ceasing’ means that one has been 'filled with all fullness of God'; a constant state of awareness that nothing in life happens outside of the providence of the heavenly Father - being able to give Him thanks in all circumstances. I ask for Him to fill my heart and mind with the readiness to be loving and kind under all circumstances.
But first and foremost, I am thankful that my heavenly Father reveals Himself through the Holy Spirit to the believer personally - I am getting to know my heavenly Father and am able to address Him directly and do not need to go through any ‘human’ mediator to help me deal with my spiritual and practical needs.
The ‘Ekklesia’ is established to hear and follow the Holy Spirit and prayerfully employ the various gifts given to its members to ‘build up’ the living Body of Christ – His Church, and so establish answers to prayers as they minister to the needs of the fellow man - Eph.4:11-13, 1 Cor.14:12.
Both of Paul's prayer reports in Ephesians 1:15-23 and Ephesians 3:14-21 share themes of deep gratitude for faith and love among believers and a heartfelt desire for spiritual growth. They highlight a prayer for enlightenment, to truly understand God's power and love, and the glorious inheritance we have in Christ. They also emphasize the work of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
Why is it important always to thank God in prayer for what you have to be thankful for?
Expressing gratitude in prayer is vital because it shifts our focus from our challenges to the abundance of God's blessings. It fosters a positive and humble mindset, recognizing that all we have is a gift from God. Additionally, thanking God in prayer strengthens our relationship with Him, increases our faith, and nurtures a heart of contentment and peace.