This week, as we look beyond what Christ taught directly about prayer, we’ll pick seven other topics that emerge as important and worthy of emphasis. YOU’LL SPEND A LIFETIME IN THIS SUBJECT, and so I know this is just an appetizer to all you’ll study on this most important essential of prayer.

The author of Thessalonians was the great missionary-apostle Paul. His prayer life must have been dramatic and engaging. The Book of Acts records his prayer activities through the eyes of Luke, while the rest of Paul’s letters (epistles) are loaded with direct prayers and teachings on prayer. Tucked into the last pocket of his first letter to the Thessalonians is a verse we all can memorize in about one second, yet spend a lifetime trying to apprehend. For perspective, here are a few other English versions of that verse:

New Living Translation
    Never stop praying.

International Standard Version
     Continually be prayerful.

GOD’S WORD Translation
     Never stop praying.

King James Bible/ASV/Douay-Rheims/ESV/NASB/ERV/Webster’s/WEB/
     Pray without ceasing.

Bible in Basic English
     Keep on with your prayers.

Darby Bible Translation
     Pray unceasingly;

Weymouth New Testament
     Be unceasing in prayer.

Young’s Literal Translation
     Continually pray ye;

The mode of the verse is “imperative,” used in the sense of a command. I’m sure Paul would say that being obedient to this command would fit the norm for a person in close fellowship with Christ. That said, outline your normal day, and on a scale from one to ten, (one being the farthest, and ten being the closest to God), rate the parts of your day:

Example:
Wake up 6
Breakfast 2
Quiet-Time 10
Shower & Dress 2
Drive to Work 6
Work 4
Lunch 4

Let’s face it, we’re all over the place. We’d love to be in continuous fellowship with God, but certain parts of the day are harder than others. Write down what you think Paul meant in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, and express a plan of action for seeing it become a reality in your life.