“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

So how is your prayer life?  Do you…

• Pray once a day
• Pray once every morning before starting my day
• Pray once a day or so but sometimes forget
• Pray once a week
• Don’t really know

If you were able to answer yes to any of the choices above, then your prayer life is seriously lacking.  And, yes, that includes those of you who were able to answer yes to even the top two.  Don’t even think about patting yourself on the
back for a “job well done.”

Seriously, I hope you don’t think of prayer as a “job” at all but rather as an ongoing relationship with your greatest love.  Now that’s a good question-is God your greatest love?  If the answer is yes AND you answered yes to any of the
above then I ask you again-How is your love life, really?  Is God truly first in your life?

I’ve heard various reasons for people avoiding prayer, I’ve used them all myself.

• I don’t know what to say
• I’m afraid of messing up
• I just can’t seem to make time
• I feel too guilty

Do any of those sound familiar?  Then let’s get to the heart of matter…RELATIONSHIP.

Relationships don’t just run themselves.  They must be nurtured.  One of the most important elements in nurturing that relationship is the ability to converse openly, honestly and on a continuous basis.

Let’s first tackle the issue of being open and honest in any relationship. Whether it’s with a spouse, a child, friend or relative, honesty can be withheld and when it is, it is almost always destructive in some form either to the person you are dishonest to or most certainly to the self.  Never the less, complete truths do not have to be revealed.  But when it comes to being open and honest with God, there is nothing that can be hidden.  He already knows every thought and action in your life, so then the issue turns inward.  It becomes an inability to be honest with the self, which in turn inhibits growth and causes internal strife.  So what does this suggest?  Would it not be to one’s advantage to be able to confide in someone who already knows everything about you?

But let’s not allow self growth to be the only reason for prayer.  God is to be praised and He is certainly worthy of praise!  Prayer is also used to make requests of God.  I  find myself doing a lot of that!

What about continuous prayer?  One of the definitions for continuous is, ‘connected throughout.’  This is how I like to think of continuous prayer…not that we are to be in a “prayerful position” at all times, but rather that we are connected with God in some fashion throughout.  And what does ‘throughout’ mean?…continuously, from beginning to end.

I once read an excerpt from a book where the writer was sharing a part of his journal.  His “experiment”, as he called it, was to see if he could fashion his life in order that he could stay “connected throughout” with God.  With each entry, his
time with God, rather it be in prayer, or just thoughts of God,  would increase, as this was his goal.  He began to realize that in everything he did throughout his day, it was possible to keep ‘the things of God’ on his mind.  At the finish of the experiment, he knew that it was not by his own efforts that he had attained this, but it was through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit that had enabled him to ‘think God thoughts’ with every thought and action of his daily life.  He had been ‘connected throughout.’

Are you connected throughout with His Holy Spirit?

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Matthew 22:37-38

The other day I was inside my granddaughters school waiting for the bell to ring, and I noticed a small poster from an organization called Acts of Kindness, with its purpose being to promote random acts of kindness.  Next to the poster was a very large chalk board where the children wrote about their random acts.  I love this idea!

As I read through some of the articles on the website I realized the entire site was geared for educators and students with ideas for teachers to promote kindness.  There are many resources available.

An article on the site spoke about the health benefits of kindness, both physical and mental.

“Helping contributes to the maintenance of good health, and it can diminish the effect of diseases and disorders serious and minor, psychological and physical.

A rush of euphoria, followed by a longer period of calm, after performing a kind act is often referred to as a “helper’s high,” involving physical sensations and the release of the body’s natural painkillers, the endorphins. This initial rush is then followed by a longer-lasting period of improved emotional well-being.”

I recommend taking a few minutes to read the article.

I live in a small town where random acts of kindness still occur.  Just yesterday a friend stopped by just to give me some company.  (i’m presently healing from surgery)  It was 20 minutes out of her day and made us both feel good.  It’s not unusual to get a phone call ‘just because’, or a plate of cookies, even a chocolate pie!  Last year a lady brought by a handful of children’s movies thinking it might be of some help to us as we found ourselves with grandchildren for an extended period of time.  And just 2 weeks ago a friend came by with a beautiful gift that still brings me so much joy.  She took the time to find and purchase a small pillow, then sewed 2 different pillow cases for it so when one got dirty i simply had to take off the other.

I wonder if we are born with kindness or is it something to be attained and maybe learned?

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control.

Colossians 3:12  Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

2 Peter 1:3-9   ³His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

After reading these scriptures I tend to want to believe that kindness is something to be attained and learned and given.

To be kind is to love.  To be kind is a quality; it is a fruit of the Spirit and something we are to clothe ourselves in.  So it takes effort, thought, desire to be so.  And it is something God has, is divine in nature and He is willing to give to us.

You’ve probably heard the story of the man who got out of bed in the morning, something happened to cause him to be angry and he carried that anger through out the day, spewing it upon each person he encountered who then did the same and so the anger affected many people, even ones he didn’t know.  So then all we have to do is replace the anger with kindness.

I think it is easier to spread  anger than it is to spread kindness.  Kindness takes thought and effort.

I’m going to pray for kindness; Godly kindness that involves love, affection, sacrifice.  And as I do I will thank God for the kindest act of all, giving His Son so that I may too know loving kindness.

By looking at the Christ we have our best opportunity to understand life, love, tragedy, and redemption.  RD

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
- Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein, one of the greatest human minds at unlocking the mysteries of creation understood the power and beauty of that which is beyond our grasp of understanding.  Maybe it was the beauty of it that kept him thinking and dreaming about the unknown and the keys that unlock the doors of understanding, one at a time.

God is the greatest of all mysteries.  This is why faith is so difficult to understand for those without its comfort.  They cannot own it, or create it with their rules, it is Grace and this is one blessing we cannot control or enforce.  It must be accepted then set free to bless all others.  The minute we tie it down, it is dead, ceases to exist within the borders of our laws.  If we deny others are worthy then we have killed it within our breast.  For Grace comes from the very breath of God, and as Jesus said “we cannot tell which way it will blow.”  Nor is it for us to decide.  Thank God, otherwise we would all be damned by someone!  Seriously, thank God and enjoy the mysterious Grace given to us by our Lord, the Christ.