Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I’ve looked at many writings on the subject of prayer and considered what I’ve learned in many books on prayer and those teachings seem to mainly fall into two categories: guilt-producing reasons we should pray (the stick) and stories and testimonies of the incredible answers to prayer that people got when they disciplined themselves to pray on a regular basis (the carrot).

I’m afraid that many teachers on prayer have turned prayer into anything but a delight. But these same teachers have turned our communion with Jesus into a duty and the Christian life into drudgery. They don’t seem to have much God-filled joy to share.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m certain that one of the things that drives me to pray is the consistent answers I’ve gotten. And as for discipline, I can choose to make room in my life to pray, but I can’t choose to ‘pray without ceasing’. That has to be something that God does in me when my heart is continually going back to Him.

The problem with the stick and carrot approaches is that they make our relationship with Jesus sterile… they ‘incline our hearts’ to self-discipline and that has some pretty dampening effects on love and communion with Him. Instead, the psalmist asks God to ‘incline my heart to your ways’ (Ps 119:36). I believe that is why Paul ties ‘rejoicing without ceasing’ and ‘praying without ceasing’ together in today’s verses.

This same tie is made in Psalm 1’s description of the person who is blessed of God: ‘His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His Word he meditates day and night’.

The idea of praying without ceasing only makes sense if we’re rejoicing–if we are delighting in the Lord and what He’s saying. One version says we: ‘thrill to God’s Words’. This isn’t rejoicing despite our circumstances, or stoic smiles of endurance, or grim determination to put a good face on things. This is rejoicing in God (Luke1:47).

What then is the key to praying without ceasing? It’s ‘Who we delight in’. That’s our heart of our prayer: “Lord, mold my heart to delight in You.” “Lord, cause me to thrill to the sound of Your voice, Your Word, Your truth.” If we’re going to ‘pray without ceasing’, what we delight in is the most important thing.