I try to sing this song // I, I try to stand up // But I can’t find my feet // I try, I try to speak up // But only in you I’m complete // Gloria, in te domine, Gloria, exultate // Gloria, Gloria // Oh Lord, loosen my lips

Gloria, U2, 1981

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With Lent approaching, I want to suggest that one way we can examine our daily habits is within the context of Paul’s exhortation to the church in Thessalonica.

Brothers and sisters, we ask you to respect those who are working with you, leading you, and instructing you.Think of them highly with love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are disorderly. Comfort the discouraged. Help the weak. Be patient with everyone. Make sure no one repays a wrong with a wrong, but always pursue the good for each other and everyone else. Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Don’t suppress the Spirit. Don’t brush off Spirit-inspired messages, but examine everything carefully and hang on to what is good. Avoid every kind of evil.  (1 Thessalonians 5.12- 22, CEB)

As infants, we begin to learn our mother tongue without any formal grammatical instruction. As one person has observed, by the time we are three or four, we are putting nouns, verbs and prepositions together in intricate sentences much like baby birds that learn to fly without studying aerodynamics. The same is true of a “mother tongue of behavior.” We watch how those in our personal lives and community behave and model our behavior accordingly.

Learning to speak Christian and Christian behavior is no different. In this passage, Paul is giving us some of the guidelines that we must incorporate if we are ever to be fluent. They are not “rules” or “laws” per se, but the ways in which the Holy Spirit leads the greater community in behaviors that contribute to our Christian fluency. To be Christian fluent is to have a responsibility to look out for the needs of others; to encourage, to give comfort, to assist the weak and to actively go after that which is good for all. And like any new behavior, it is best formed by practicing new habits: the habits of rejoicing always, praying continually and giving thanks in all circumstances.

Gloria, in te domine, Gloria, exultate – Glory in You, Lord / Glory, exalt [Him]” Lord, loosen my lips

Rejoice always: perhaps easier said than done, but we try. Give thanks: we know that’s we should do and how we should live. Pray continually: I suspect that’s a bit harder challenge. Am I supposed to go through life on my knees with my hands clasped and eyes closed in a form of self-imposed blindness? No, that is not what the God of life wants us to do and nor is Paul suggesting a posture. Paul is talking about a guiding behavorial principle. We are supposed to be people who twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year, are open, receptive and responsive to what God is doing in our lives and we are to do everything we can to keep the lines of communication open.

Gloria, in te domine, Gloria, exultate – Glory in You, Lord / Glory, exalt [Him]” Lord, loosen my lips.

Our prayer is continual when we believe that God  is with us all the time, trusting in God’s love and care, knowing that God is working for good in our lives, regardless of what is happening. Continual prayer is not about delivering complex, lengthy, and eloquent dissertations to the Lord every minute of the day. Continual prayer happens in the short conversations, the moments however brief, when we thank God for the many blessings that surround us: the beauty of a new day, the food on our tables, the warmth of our homes, the hands held, the hugs given and the hugs received. Continual prayer happens when we give God credit for the nice surprises and the times of tears, asking God for guidance when we feel confused or lost. Continual prayer happens when we recognize and pursue the needs of the stranger, widow, and the orphan.

Gloria, in te domine, Gloria, exultate – Glory in You, Lord / Glory, exalt [Him]”

Notice that Paul has placed continual prayer between rejoicing and thanksgiving. Continual prayer is the bridge between the two, the essential bridge that unites the twin poles of Christian living. When we pray continually, realizing God’s presence, we can rejoice always and give thanks in all circumstances. Pray continually- an important step in becoming fluent in Christian and most importantly, it is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ.

Gloria, in te domine, Gloria, exultate – Glory in You, Lord / Glory, exalt [Him]” Lord, loosen my lips

Artwork: Brandt, Jozef. Prayer in the Steppe, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56475 [retrieved February 5, 2021]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brandt_Prayer_in_the_steppe.jpg