Thessalonians – Where the Wind…

…Opening To…

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me save that thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping thy presence my light (Ancient Irish Hymn)

…Listening In…

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; context)

…Filling Up…

There are four days left in our survey of verses that found there way onto my old guitar case during my college years of 2001-2005. Today’s passage from the last chapter of Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians is one that has stuck with me for quite a long time. When I was a sophomore I read a short story by Wendell Berry that I think was entitled “Pray Without Ceasing.” (It was either called that or that was the theme.) And I discovered those words came from Paul.

A few years later, when I was in seminary, I discovered that the first letter to the Thessalonians is probably the oldest piece of Christian writing that still exists, so the words from these verses became even more special. Before anything else that we still have was written, Paul urged people to rejoice always and to pray without ceasing. If people took him seriously, that means that while the rest of the New Testament was being written, there were people praying ceaselessly during its composition. What a cool thought!

It wasn’t until a few years after that realization that I discovered one last thing about these verses. I had always thought “praying without ceasing” was really hyperbole – Paul stressing the importance of prayer by telling people to do it all the time. I didn’t realize that it was actually possible. Then I read a description of prayer from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer (BCP). The BCP says this: “Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.”

This sentence completely changed how I think about prayer. If prayer is not just talking to God about stuff, but instead is anything we do to respond to God, then it is possible to “pray without ceasing.” To do so is to cultivate a constant awareness of how each of our actions is done as some kind of response to God’s action in our lives. Each action we take or thought we think puts us in either greater or lesser resonance with God’s movement. By cultivating this constant awareness, we are praying without ceasing.

…Praying For…

Dear God, you encounter me in the words of the scripture and these encounters continue throughout my life. Help me to be sensitive to your movement throughout all facets of my life so that I can better respond to your call. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

…Sending Out…

I leave this moment with you, God, but I take with me your word, which settles deep in my soul and speaks life into my being.

…Opening To…

Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free. (Paul Tillich, Theologian)

…Listening In…

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; context)

…Filling Up…

The little decisions flit through our lives so quickly and so often that we barely register them. Each one lasts a moment, and since they are small, there’s a better than average chance that they are taking very little of our attention and focus. Now, I must admit that when I said yesterday that I thought we should pray every time we make a small decision, I was being slightly misleading.

While I do think we should pray, I have a feeling that my understanding of prayer in this particular situation might be different than the one in your minds. At its broadest, prayer is our response to God. It’s that simple. Whenever we do or say something because of God’s presence in our lives, we are praying. This includes the normal conception of prayer – the prayers before going to bed type of praying – but it also includes so much more. It includes the urge to help someone in trouble, for example. The urge is of God. Helping is prayer.

This expansive understanding of prayer allows us to see our entire lives happening in the midst the presence of God. We are swimming and the water is God. Such an outlook is, I think, the absolute best way to live a life, and it also helps us make the best decisions possible – both small and big.

We can cultivate a way of life that sees everything we do as a response to God’s presence (and therefore as a prayer). Since everything includes everything, it includes the hundreds of small decisions we make each day. By practicing our response to God’s presence, we can become more attuned to God’s yearning for us, which, in turn, helps us make the right decisions. Of course, we won’t get them right every time, but the act of staying in tune with God will help us choose the right paths more often than not.

The more decisions we make that end up being life-affirming and full of joy and abundance, the more apt we will be to make them again. I used to love potato chips. I mean, I could eat a whole bag of wavy Lays in one sitting. But a few years ago, they started to make me very sick. Even a single chip makes me violently ill. So I stopped eating them. Now when I see a bowl of chips at a lunch meeting or party, I have to decide every time not to have one. But you know what? Over time, that decision has gotten easier and easier. Now, I hardly ever miss them.

…Praying For…

Dear God, thank you for giving me the strength of will to make good decisions. Help me when I fail to come back to your life-giving way. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.