God's Will?

By De'Etta Goecker

Do you ever wonder about God’s will for your life? Paul fills the end of I Thessalonians with bullet statements that give a clear glimpse into God’s will.

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thess 5:16-18

1. Rejoice always. Choose joy.

2. Pray without ceasing.

3. In everything give thanks.

There you have it. Three simple commands, nine little words to convey God’s will. Easy peasy? I don’t think so.

These are commands. God doesn’t command us to do something that we cannot do as we rely on His assistance. He also doesn’t command us to do things with a “wink”. He expects us to DO what he TELLS US TO DO. Really.

I’ve written about choosing joy numerous times. Learning to choose joy is HUGE for your spiritual well-being, for your happiness, for your growth in relationship with Jesus. If you feel you could use a bit of clarity or meditation on joy, feel free to read my thoughts here  and here.
Today our focus is “pray without ceasing”. I believe we are to have an attitude of prayer as we go about our day. My first response should be prayer: in times of profound joy, in times of anxiety, in times of loss. I turned to the confession page in my Tryst Journal (Devotional Journal) today. I realized that I had been anxious and fretting about a character issue in a person I am mentoring. I had NOT prayed about it as much as I should; instead I’d worried and fretted.

Prayer without ceasing realizes that God is in charge; not me. It adjusts my attitude and perspective.

May I suggest one way to begin to live a lifestyle of prayer is to find every day things and turn them into prayer prompts. It really works. I use red lights, improper use of turn signals and improper merging of others to call me to prayer. There may be better triggers for you.

I encourage you to pray about these short verses, to meditate on them and to see what God shows you.

This article shares some fantastic practical tips to unceasing prayer. Please do go read the short article, print it out and put it into practice.

Have a blessed week.

De'Etta can be reached at AsiaPresident@pwoc.org  or visit at Coffee With PWOC Asia.