*1 Thessalonians 5:16-19
Always be full of joy. Never stop praying. Whatever happens, always be thankful. This is how God wants you to live in Christ Jesus. Don't stop the work of the Holy Spirit.*
This scripture paints what God has been dealing with me for some couple of months now.**
""Prayer""
I for one as a Christian have always believed that Christian ought always to pray: every Christian ought to have this mind-set.
Now the crux here is that while the lord admonishes that "men ought always to pray and never to faint", I believe what scriptures teaches on prayer has been and can be carried as either an admonition or a command(prayer of love). At some point in my Christian life(which applies to some believer), I am in either pole of this two: taking prayer as a command or an admonition. To be in either pole in ones mind-set isn't good. We need to find the balance. Finding and being in the balance isn't trying to find the middle but rather accepting that prayer at some point is a command and at another point is an admonition.
"" finding the balance"
To find the balance, we must understand why prayer is a command and why it is an admonition.
.......why is prayer an admonition?
We need prayers not to get Gods favor(because Gods love was even demonstrated towards us while we were yet sinners) but rather to have fellowship with the Father, Son and Spirit; to exercise our faith in accessing our blessedness in Christ Jesus. God is not demanding prayers from you to favour or bless you his beloved. He blessed us the moment He gave our lord Jesus a sacrifice for sin and Resurrected him that we might stand Justified.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
*John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.*
Therefore in this sense we are admonished to pray for our good and enjoyment.
......why is prayer a commandments?
God has all power yet He is not an anarchist nor a vicious king. He commands us to pray in love. It is a commandment because in this sense prayer is made for love sake on behalf of the dying world of sinner(intercessory prayers) and also pray for the body of Christ the church(supplicating prayers). We are commanded to pray but the motivation for such prayer is love. God is not compelling us by such command but admonishing us by his love, will and ability in us. As believers it is natural for us to have the desire to either intercede and supplicate.
So back to the introduction: when we have the view that prayer is just an admonition, then we don't bear fruits of love. One the other hands when we have the view of prayers being a command then we tend to think that the only way we can enjoy the Good life is by God rewarding us. Therefore we fail to see prayers in itself as a means to exercise our faith and claim what we desire.
mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
John 1414 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Finally
Prayer is a work of the spirit. When we pray, we give the holy Spirit room to work on our behalf contrary to that we are hindering one of the operations of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I believe God is working His glorious will in you .
Glory to God.
God bless you all. Amen.