1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

My kids are, unsuccessfully, trying to change my response to their phone calls. The

problem that I have is that my kids don’t call unless it an emergency. We typically

communicate with text messages and in person conversations, but sometimes I call

them or video chat with them to share some important news.

When my kids call me, it is never to just say, “I love you,” or “I wanted to hear your

voice.” When my kids call me specifically, it is to communicate some pain, hurt, or

emergency need. I can’t tell you the number of times that I got a phone call from one of

my kids with them in tears. It is a blessing that they feel safe enough to call me, but

when they do call my heart skips a beat.

My oldest called me Friday night as Naomi and I were getting done with our Valentine’s

date, the connection was not great and the cities got six plus inches of snow. I was

concerned that I would have to drive four hours to rescue my daughter in those four

seconds of trying to hear what was going on. My stomach was doing flips and my

stress levels were going through the roof. She wanted to say, “Hi.”

How often do we go to God in the emergency moments? Do we do a perfunctory check

in at meals and speak to Him in times of need? Or do we relish our time with God? Do

we set apart time to focus on Him and communicate with God?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “ 16  Rejoice always; 17  pray without ceasing; 18  in

everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” We have been

called to joy in our prayers, expecting God’s will to be worked out as we give thanks to

God for leading us through the hard times.

Philippians 4:4-7 says,

4  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5  Let your gentle spirit be

known to all men. The Lord is near. 6  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything

by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to

God. 7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your

hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When we couple the call to pray without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians and the call to be

anxious about nothing in Philippians we see that God has called us to live a life of

dependence on Him. A life that turns every situation over to Him, not just the meals or

emergencies, but a life of joyful dependence upon God. Let us live a life of prayer that

is excited to go before God at all times, in every situation with needs and joys.