Pray Always

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 

(1 Thessalonians 1:11)

What does it mean to pray constantly for the church, for other followers of Christ?  What does it mean to be made worthy of God’s calling?  

Am I, personally, disciplined enough to intercede continually on behalf of God’s family, that each may be transformed by the Holy Spirit so that all their works are prompted by faith?  Or am I more likely to criticize, judge and blame the church–my own family–for its shortcomings?

In Luke 11, Jesus teaches about prayer, and he points us toward God’s goodness.  He tells us to ask, seek and knock, to pursue and keep on pursuing God.  He does not promise that by being persistent in prayer we will receive whatever we want.  Instead he promises that by continuing to seek God, we will receive the greatest Gift of all–the Holy Spirit.  And when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, we will become Christ’s witnesses, empowered to share the good news of grace with everyone we meet.

When we relentlessly keep our attention trained on God, and on heavenly things, we learn to see them.  This, I think, is what it means to pray always, and especially to pray for one another always–to be so intent on pursuing God and God’s kingdom that we–all of us together–cannot help but be attuned to God’s presence, that we and our brothers and sisters cannot help but see evidence of God’s goodness and grace.  And the more attuned we are to God, perhaps the more we become participants in God’s goodness and grace. Perhaps, the more attuned we are to God, the more we are transformed into vessels through which grace flows, bringing about God’s kingdom on earth.

Let us pray…

God of goodness and grace, teach us how to pray always, and especially to pray always for one another, to be persistent in our pursuit of you, that we may be transformed by your Holy Spirit and equipped to share your good news with everyone we meet.  In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

This devotional was written and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.