Young People’s Blog

“Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).

Yesterday we saw that we are not to use vain repetitions in prayer, as the heathen do, but today in our verse it says that we are to “pray without ceasing.” This might seem to contradict what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew’s gospel. But does the Word of God say one thing in one place, and something opposite in another place? No, of course not, for God does not contradict Himself. What does today’s verse mean then?

When we use “vain repetitions,” it means to say the same words over and over again, perhaps without much feeling in our hearts. It becomes merely a set of words that we say, like a chant that is sometimes heard when a crowd of people gathers together and makes a demonstration in the street.

On the other hand, when we pray without ceasing, we come before the Lord day after day, in earnest prayer, perhaps asking for the same thing as we did the day before. Or, it may be that other things are on our hearts the next day, but still, we are continuing to pray. But in each case there is real exercise in our hearts, and a seeking to know the Lord’s mind, so that we pray intelligently. Then we may well “pray without ceasing,” but we will not be guilty of using vain repetition.

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do…for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him” (Matthew 6:7-8).

Apparently heathen people, who worshiped idols, used to pray, they repeated the same phrases over and over again, as if the god to whom they were praying would somehow answer their prayers more readily if they repeated themselves many times. I remember several young people in foreign countries who used to write to me, asking for things, and to make sure that I understood clearly what they wanted, they would repeat the request four or five times in the same letter. Sometimes at the end of the letter they would write several times, “Don’t forget me!”

But in our verses for today, we read that our Father already knows what we need, before we ask Him. We do not have to repeat the same request over and over again, in the same prayer. Our God knows what we need, and we can trust Him to provide for us. But notice that it says, “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of.” It does not say, “Your Father knoweth what things ye want.” The Lord has promised to supply all our needs, not all our wants.

“Bear ye one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2).

Just last week we had a severe ice storm in our area. For those of you who don’t live in the north, this happens most often in spring when the temperature hovers around the freezing point and then it begins to rain. It’s not long before the roads are icy, and the trees start to get a heavy coating of ice built up on their branches. This makes the branches heavier and heavier, until finally many begin to snap. During this storm, many branches, and even some large trees came down.

As I watched the trees bending over from the weight they were carrying, I thought of people. Many have troubles and sorrows in their lives that make them “bend over” with all those cares. What would have helped those trees? If the sun had come out and some warmth had shone on them, soon the ice would have melted away! If you see someone who seems overwhelmed by care, you can apply some “warmth.” Maybe just a kind word, or a little service you can do, will be a big help. The Lord often gives us an opportunity this way. Let’s spread the warmth of His love.

“And when He [the shepherd] hath found it [the sheep], He layeth it on His shoulders, rejoicing” (Luke 15:5).

We all may know the story in this chapter about the shepherd who had lost just one of his one hundred sheep. That lost one was so important to him that he went out seeking the sheep until he found it. Then what does he do? He puts it on his shoulders! The sheep can’t get lost again in that secure position! The shoulders are where a man’s strength is, and on the shepherd’s shoulders is a place high up off the ground as well.

What would the shepherd think if the sheep began to struggle and want to get down and find its own way along the path? Maybe it sometimes felt that danger was near and that it needed to get down to run and hide. But it was being carried, and it was safe. It was loved and at peace. How wonderful if we too can accept all that our loving Shepherd has done, and is doing for us. We can “trust, and not be afraid” (Isaiah 12:2).

“Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13).

Here’s one more story about the prisoners in the castle. As 1944 ended, many of the men in Colditz had been imprisoned for several years. But they had been able to rig up a radio in secret and listen to the news broadcasts from England. They knew that the war was coming to an end and that help would reach them very soon. But they didn’t fold their hands and just wait. No, they were devising plans of escape right to the end. Far up in the attics of the castle a group of men was building a glider plane. They used slats from the bottoms of the bunk beds, and bedposts as well, to carve the wooden pieces for the glider. They stripped the covers from their mattresses and covered the cloth in thin layers of cold porridge to make it non-permeable by the wind. When the Allied soldiers finally entered the castle, they found a fully functioning glider plane ready for take-off, far up in the eaves.

It should be the same with us. The Lord Jesus has promised that He is coming for us any day now, and we are waiting and watching for Him. But He wants us to keep busy working for Him until that day comes.

“The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry” (Psalm 34:15).

“The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth” (Psalm 34:17).

Those prisoners in Colditz Castle enjoyed the food parcels, but soon those sending them began to figure out ways to include information and secret codes. All the mail that the prisoners sent home, and the mail that was sent to them, was carefully scrutinized and edited by the guards. Now, using the secret codes, they could write home, and even though what they wrote sounded quite ordinary, it was conveying valuable information by code. Also, they got valuable information from their home country in this way. This lifted the morale of the prisoners greatly. They were still locked into uncomfortable cells and did not have enough to eat, but they knew someone was now listening to them and wanted to help them.

Our Savior’s ears are open, and He is listening 24/7. What an encouragement and morale booster this should be to us when we are struggling and feel alone! We do not need to speak or write in code, for no one can intercept the messages we send to the Lord in prayer.

“He (the Lord Jesus) humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

After World War II was over, some of the higher German leaders were taken to court and put on trial for their part in the war, and for going along with Hitler’s terrible program to exterminate the Jews. One prominent man was condemned to die by hanging. His wife tried to persuade the Allied high command to execute him by a firing squad, instead of hanging him. Why did she do this? It was because she considered a firing squad a more honorable way to die than by being hanged. But the sentence was carried out, and he was hanged.

The Lord Jesus suffered death by crucifixion, which was not only a most painful way to die, but also a very shameful and disgraceful death. It was reserved for hardened criminals, and for those whom the Romans considered to be the worst offenders. The Lord Jesus endured it all, and submitted to this kind of a death, because of His love to God His Father, and His love to us. It is on this day, the Lord’s day, that He has asked us to come together and remember Him. Are you remembering the Lord Jesus in His death today?

“A book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name” (Malachi 3:16).

During World War II many men among the Allied troops were captured, taken as prisoners of war and held in very uncomfortable prisons. One of these was Colditz Castle in Germany. The meals served would keep a man alive, but that was about all. Eventually the Red Cross, and later the prisoners’ families at home, were allowed to send parcels containing tinned meats, fruits, biscuits and other treats. But do you know what the prisoners said when these wonderful packages arrived? They commented that even though the food was wonderful, the fact that someone was thinking of them was even more wonderful! They had not been forgotten!

The Lord loves to know that we are thinking of Him every day. And our verse tells us that He even writes it down. The families and friends of those soldiers who were prisoners of war appreciated the sacrifice those men had made, and wanted to help them out as much as possible. Do we realize how much the Lord has done for us? Do we remember to think about Him, and thank Him?

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?…Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3,5).

A mote is something very small, and today we would use the words “speck” or “particle.” Sometimes we have a speck of something in our eye, and we like it if someone who can see well will take it out for us. But the Lord Jesus exaggerates here, to make a point. He says that if we have a beam, like a very large piece of wood, in our own eye, how could we see clearly to take a speck out of someone else’s eye? Of course, no one could have anything as large as a beam of wood in his eye, but that is how some of us are when we want to correct others.

We can see the smallest sin or failure in someone else, but we often cannot see the much greater failure in our own life. Then, when we go to someone else to point out their failure, perhaps they draw to our attention the much greater failure in our life. First of all, we ought to correct our own life and our own failure. Then we could see clearly to help someone else deal with sin in their life.

“Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Matthew 6:27).

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees…for ye make clean the outside of the cup and platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess” (Matthew 23:25).

Have you ever wished you were taller than you are? Or have you ever wished that you were stronger? For the girls, have you ever wished that you were more beautiful? If we are honest, probably all of us, at one time or another, have wished we had different bodies. Yet we cannot change our height, or our looks; God has made us a certain way.

The scribes and Pharisees were greatly concerned about their outward appearance, and did many things to appear righteous and good before others. Yet inside they were just as wicked as others, and perhaps even more than others, because they were hypocrites. They pretended to be what they were not.

God is far more concerned with what we are inside, than with what we appear to be outside. We cannot change our natural appearance, but we can change what we are in our character and behavior. If we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, we receive a new life in Christ. That new life immediately changes our behavior, and what a difference this makes!

Today some people spend a great deal of money to try and change their appearance by plastic surgery, etc., and this may be all right at times. If you were born with crooked teeth, it is nice to have an orthodontist straighten them for you. But how much better it is to work on what is inward! That kind of change is far more important to God.