The Bottom line:
We need God in our day, not God as a part of our day. Here’s the difference. Paul tells the Thessalonian believers to rejoice, pray without ceasing, and to give thanks- all a part of God’s will.

Rejoice!
A spirit of worship keeps our focus on God. A heart of worship is critical to being in God’s will. In your prayers, how are you worshiping God?

Pray without ceasing
Prayer is life long conversation with God. Some prayers are long, some are like texting, others a quick phone call. The idea here is we consistently talk to God throughout our day. After all, God is with us. How often do you pray?

Give thanks
Thanking God is trusting God. When we thank God in all things it does two things: 1) it focuses us in on God 2) it shows we trust in God’s plan for our life. How are you thanking God?

God’s Will
God wants to grow us and bless us. By fulfilling these three things we’re saying that we trust God to accomplish His will in our life. Don’t fall in the tyranny of God’s blessing where we think if we make the slightest mistake God won’t bless us. That’s not Gospel. Jesus died for all sins. All challenges we face are to conform and sharpen us more and more into the image of Jesus.

One more time:
Rejoicing, praying and thanking are three critical things to our prayer life. Doing these three things puts God in our day and not just a part of it.