The Prayer Life - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

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

We do many things in the course of a day that we must do. We do many that we want to do. We do many that we need to do, but how often do we do the things we should do? As I thought about my prayer life a while ago I sat down in a quiet place away from all the usual daily distractions and pondered the question: Do I pray as often as I should? In the Book of Daniel we are told, “ . . . he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” - Daniel 6:10. Psalm 55:17 states, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.” Is three times a day truly the standard by which we should be judging the fervency of our prayer life?
In our title verse Paul seems to put forth a greater standard for prayer, one that certainly trumps the Old Testament standard. Paul’s submission is that we continually keep the name of God on our lips. I believer the apostle had good reason for his stand on prayer.
When coming to God with our words we must do so in a reverent and proper manner. “I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; be merciful to me according to Your word.” - Psalm 119:58. God Himself commands us to come to Him in this most holy way. “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” - Jeremiah 29:13.
But how often? Again, Paul answers us in the most exacting way - “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God . . .” - Philippians 4:6. Paul tells us that we are to rejoice and pray to God in everything . . . and with thanksgiving! Each and every day we must come to our heavenly Father with our concerns, our needs, our hopes, our joys and our gratitude. We must be prayerful all day and everyday. There is the standard by which our prayer life can be judged. May we constantly come to God in prayer as desert sojourners come to the well which brims with eternal life and let us ever be thankful to the God who gives and sustains our lives.