Casandra Martin

“Pray without ceasing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

The light saber battle had not even begun. My little friend was still sorting out players and deciding who was going to be overcome and who was going to triumph when he brought me one of the toys. Placing the Jedi in my hands, he asked me to help him get the robes and weapons back in the right places. “Can you fix this?” he asked. Looking in his little face, I wanted to freeze frame the moment. Here was the essence of essential number two.

First Thessalonians 5:16-18 contain three basics, ten words that are core to living deeply and fully in the will of God. Rejoice always is the beginning, the starting line for a life rich in Jesus. If rejoicing is about setting the perspective of our hearts, praying without ceasing is about properly positioning our hearts. Making the decision to give ourselves fully in prayer moves us into the best place to experience God’s care, protection, love, and goodness in our days.

Close your eyes and picture my little friend’s face. What do you see? As he hands me his toy, he places himself in a position of dependence. He doesn’t try to do it on his own. He trusts that his problem can be taken care of by someone bigger than himself. He is willing to wait for the answer that he needs and for a solution he can’t imagine for himself. He lets go of the toy in order to receive it back better, more useful, and with more possibilities than when he released it. It is a pretty amazing picture of the power of prayer and the position my heart needs to embrace before God.

My Jesus Resolution today is to learn the lessons my little friend has already mastered. I am going to let prayer position my heart in a posture of dependence and trust. I don’t want to wade into the pile of broken dreams, broken expectations, broken promises, broken attempts, and broken hearts that litter my day and try to fix it all on my own. I want to hand them to God, wait on His timing, and anticipate the wonderful things He will do when I let go and ask for His help. How might it change my heart to take every circumstance, every struggle, every relationship, and every decision to my Father and let Him touch it first?