Prayer is Hard Work

Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus towards you.
—1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The Apostle Paul wrote this passage in his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, then the capital and largest city of the Roman province of Macedonia. The establishment of this church by Paul and Silas is recorded in Acts 17.

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. Paul, as was his custom, went in to them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and not a few of the chief women. But the unpersuaded Jews took along some wicked men from the marketplace, and gathering a crowd, set the city in an uproar. Assaulting the house of Jason, they sought to bring them out to the people. When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and certain brothers before the rulers of the city, crying, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here also, whom Jason has received.  These all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus!” The multitude and the rulers of the city were troubled when they heard these things. When they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. 
—Acts 17:1-9

The church in Thessalonica began under fire, being opposed by several unbelieving Greeks and Jews in positions of great influence and causing Paul and Silas to flee by night with the assistance of new believers. Even so, the fellowship grew to be a strong church. Based upon Paul's recorded travels (Acts 17:10-18:11) and based upon what is written in the letter (1 Thessalonians 3:1-6), many suggest that this letter was written to the church soon after Paul's hasty departure and may be the oldest of Paul's letters that we have. In the letter, Paul seems to be following up on his first work, teaching the new believers those important things that he did not have time to convey in person.

Paul was quite familiar with opposition and persecution. Before his conversion to Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-19), Paul persecuted Christ's followers. In fact, we first meet Paul, then called Saul, when he played a supporting role in the persecution and stoning to death of the disciple Stephen, a deacon in the young church at Jerusalem (Acts 7). During the stoning, Saul watched the coats of those who did the dirty work (Acts 7:58).

Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears, then rushed at him with one accord. They threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” He knelt down, and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he fell asleep. 
—Acts 7:54-60

Now on the receiving end of the persecution, Paul made sure that fellow believers had everything they needed to see them through. He therefore charged them to always rejoice, to always pray and to always give thanks. These were not just Paul's recommendations to them. Paul reinforced his charge by explaining that God wanted them to do these things.

On the surface, these commands seem obvious and proper. But as we put them in the perspective of day-to-day living, we realize that this is tough stuff; prayer is hard work. Consider this: In everything that happens to us, in everything we think about, for every moment of every day, we are to rejoice in it; we are to pray about it; we are to give thanks for it. Wow. That is really hard work. This could be thought of as a spiritual form of multitasking—a process that has become all too commonplace to us in our work and play.

But how do we begin? Well, like any type of work, we just do it. We take what we know, and we use it. As we do the work, we learn how to do it better. We build confidence and we even learn to enjoy it to some extent, depending on the work. We learn from productive fellow workers by listening to their advice or by following their example. All the while knowing that as each new day comes, we must begin our work again.

The work of constant prayer may come naturally to some believers, but not necessarily to all. There is no question that it is hard work to always rejoice, to always pray and to always give thanks. Maybe that is why God's Word reminds us to do it.

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