Seeking God in 1 THESSALONIANS

“Pray without ceasing.” 1 THESSALONIANS 5:17

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ear Lord, may these words about prayer nourish those who read them. May these words help us to deepen our trust in you. And may your Spiritual gifts abound in our lives as we seek to dwell in your presence more and more. Amen.

Pray without ceasing. Pray about everything. Present before the Lord your joys and sorrows, worries and hopes. Bring yourself to the foot of the cross as you are: brokenhearted, sinful, bold and ambitious. He wants to receive your all. Not just your Sunday morning self, or your fretting self, or your sweaty self. Absolute love sees no dividing lines between the human categories we impose upon ourselves. He sees us whole. He wants us whole. He calls us home. And home is somewhere within us, in His presence.

It can take years for us to develop the kind of trust that holds nothing back from our Father. Or minutes. It all depends –I guess- on our battle scars. We are less likely to trust after we have been hurt. Obviously. And we bring that baggage to our relationship with God. “Pray without ceasing” is also an invitation to tell me your stuff, open up; let Me handle it. There is nothing too dirty or too clean. Let Jesus hold your hand. Pray.