The Thursday after the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on September 4, 2025 by under
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:14-24 (NKJV)
5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Devotion
What is God’s will for your life? One might hear that question from some preachers in the context of which car to purchase, what career to pursue, etc. But the question should be seen from a broader perspective. What is God’s will for you? It is for you to participate in the life of Christ; to be molded by Christ; to be joyful, prayerful, and thankful in Christ.
Patience, in verse 14, is of course a virtue. We must bear with the weak. Verse 15 is an elaboration on patience. Accept a mean comment or action by a brother with calmness and understanding. Pray for his well-being. Resentfulness is not Christian. Patience is the opposite of arrogance and resentfulness. Rejoice in the face of meanness and persecution.
“Pray without ceasing.” This doesn’t mean being constantly at one’s prayer desk. We must work and live life. It means praying anytime we can lift up our hearts and speak our thoughts into His ear. Praying can be one’s inner dialog with God. In this, and in all things, let us conform ourselves to God’s will for our lives.
Collect: Almighty and Everlasting God, Who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve: Pour down upon us the abundance of Thy mercy, forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
