I've been reading a devotional put together by a guy named Roy H. Clarke since April 23, 2005. It's a collection of items written by Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers in 19th century England called Beside Still Waters; Words of Comfort for the Soul.
Today's entry pointed out that "pray without ceasing" comes right after "rejoice always" in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 and is followed by "in everything give thanks." To quote further:
"The more praying, the more rejoicing. Prayer gives a channel to pent up sorrow, and it flows away in a steady stream of scared delight. The more rejoicing, the more praying. When the heart is quiet and full of joy, it will draw near to the Lord in worship. A holy joy and prayer act and react on each other....When joy and prayer are married, the firstborn child is gratitude."
Didja notice the typo I put in italics? The transposition of two letters drastically changed the meaning of what Charley S. really meant! When you're bummed out, prayer gives you the channel to let the crap of life flow down the pipes, so to speak, and produces a sacred delight, not a scared one, based on the fact that Jesus loves you as much as the Father loves him; which has the necessary implication that the FATHER loves you as much as He loves Jesus because you are in Him!! You don't have to be scared of talking to Him, but can rejoice in the fact that He wants to hear from you; especially when life sucks!
On top of that, you can be thankful in the midst of your praying that even before you ask, He's got the answer on the way, even if it takes a while to get to you. Give it a shot and see what happens. I can give you 177,551 examples of how it works.
Got sacred delight? (Might be a good name for a dessert at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb!)
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