How well do you rejoice? Are you praying regularly, even at all times? Are you thankful for everything, even those times when it’s a bit rough? Do you look at the situation as one in which God will use to your betterment?
Our normal human behavior is to be happy when something good happens for us. We are also thankful when something good happens for us. We may think about praying from time-to-time, but far too often we don’t pray on a daily basis.
Rejoicing isn’t always easy. We hit rough patches in the road. A job is lost. A relationship ends. We lose a loved one. Our vehicle breaks down. Even if we don’t experience all of them, we see them happen to our family and friends. We wonder why things just can’t go well.
When we see all these speed bumps of life, we forget to be thankful. Instead, we get depressed. We become anxious. Our minds turn to trying to make sense of what just happened, then we start trying to figure out how to make it better.
There is nothing wrong with our reaction. Yet, we are not to stay there for long. We are instructed to be thankful. Why? When we are thankful, we are not depressed nor anxious. Those feelings leave us, and we begin to rejoice in our blessings from God.
The best way to show God our thanks is to spend time in prayer. God loves for us to spend time with Him. He loves it even more than our Grandparents do. The good news is, when we spend more time with God, we become even more thankful and rejoice more often.
Spending time in prayer builds our relationship with God. It strengthens us and brings about understanding. Prayer, thankful prayer, also reduces our stress, anxiousness, and depression, bringing about a peace and calm we all desire.
Prayer is also a time to make our requests known to God. Yet, we must remember that God is not a genie who will grant our every wish. We are to pray in accordance with His will. In order to know His will, we must spend time with Him. After all, isn’t that how we learned what our parents expected from us?
I pray we all become more thankful. I pray we rejoice at all times, knowing God is in control. I pray each one of us learn to pray continually, keeping God at the forefront of our minds. Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks at all times. Spend time with God in prayer. Grow your relationship with God. Trust God is in control.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Marty Pressey 