Pray Without Ceasing
by Sara Rivas
Morning, Downey Church, friends and family. I’m really happy to share the kids’ story with you guys again.
So my boys and I have been reading the, doing a deep dive into the life of Joseph for the past maybe two, three weeks. And something that we’ve noticed that we really like about Joseph as one of the Bible heroes is how he was able to trust God through everything that happened. And so sometimes in his life, He had highs, you know, when his dad gave him that very special coat to separate him from his brothers. That made him very special from his brothers. That was a big high.
And then, you know, when he’s out in the field with his brothers and they didn’t have one kind word to say to Joseph, I’m sure that was a big low for him. You know, and his life is just filled with ups and downs. And, you know, dad loves him and dad says, oh, son, go check on your brothers and go tell me, you know. So he’s dad’s little, mad, but you know, he feels that he is different, he is special from the rest of them. And he gets to his brothers and then they throw him in a well. They end up selling him as a slave. That’s another low. you know, he, [God] is with him the whole time.
And one of the things that Joseph practices is something that we find in Thessalonians, first Thessalonians 5:16-17, and it says, rejoice at all times, pray without ceasing. And that means pray without stopping, give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. It’s just a beautiful verse and it was really nice to be able to see how Joseph was able to, despite all the trials, all the craziness that was happening in his life, you know, there’s lots of exciting points and really, really low points. in his life that he was still able to stay with God, stay connected to God.
And so I just want to remind you boys that God is always with you. Even when you’re having a bad day, even when you’re having your very best day, He is with you always. Remember to give thanks to Him, to rejoice in Him and just don’t stop the praying.
All right, let me pray for you. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you so much because you love us so much and you care about everything that goes on in our lives. The little things, the big things, the exciting moments, you’re there through it all. Thank you so much, Lord, for, we ask you for guidance in our lives. We thank you for the opportunity to be able to come and to pray. And I, it’s so nice that you say, pray without stopping because sometimes I feel like, man, I’m praying all the time. And I don’t know if he’s gonna get tired of listening to me. but you don’t, you want us to pray without stopping. And so it’s just a wonderful blessing to be able to come to you Lord and to give you everything. Please be in us in our lives. We love you so much. Please bless our families. And we thank you for another Sabbath day. In your sweet name we pray, amen.
All right, take care, bye.