Prayer and Celebration

I want us as followers of Jesus to do two things:
- Pray
- Celebrate

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul tells us to pray continually. I truly believe that without prayer nothing works. Prayer however, is not about rolling out our wish list and asking God to make it all happen. Prayer is about seeking God, seeking God's will, allowing God to speak truth to us, and letting God transform us into the image of Jesus.

I hear followers of Jesus complaining more than praying. I don't find anywhere in God's Word where we are told to complain. I do find hundreds of times where God's people are command to pray.

In Ephesians 6:18 Paul says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." We are to pray about everything, all the time, with all kinds of prayers. That seems very inclusive to me. Bottom line: We as God's people need to pray!

If any people in the world have reason to celebrate it is us as followers of Jesus. We have the Creator of the whole earth on our side. God became flesh and lived and died for our sins and then rose from the dead. And as His followers who have surrender our lives to Him, we have eternal life. That is reason to celebrate.

We as followers of Jesus are more angry than joyful.
We as followers of Jesus are more negative than positive.
We as followers of Jesus are more discouraged than hopeful.
We as followers of Jesus are in mourning more than in celebration.

I get that the world is fallen, perverted and broken.
However, Jesus is perfect, holy, and whole.

I don't celebrate the fallen, perverted, or broken. I celebrate the perfect, holy, whole Jesus.

I invite you to pray and than celebrate the One you pray to.

Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
                             Joe