One Bible verse buried deep inside the Bible:
Pray constantly. (1 Thessalonians 5:17 RSV)
Why do you call this a hidden Bible verse? It’s definitely a short Bible verse, but I think a pretty well-known one.
Perhaps it’s pretty well-known, but I can’t remember anyone but me ever quoting it.
Pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Be blessed, be a blessing, Jesus is LORD!
Peter
Maybe it isn’t constantly quoted, but most Christians practise it by praying frequently if not constantly.
1Th 5:16 Rejoice evermore.
1Th 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
In context there is a list of admonitions to Christians that describe a life of continual awareness of and devotion to God. This is something we all fall short of and should strive towards.
I know what you mean. verses like this one can appear a bit hidden, and are not often quoted by themselves. I hear you.
I think one reason it may appear a bit “hidden” is due to the numbering of verses. It may come as a surprise to some that even though the original text of our New Testament is a couple of thousand years old, those little verse numbers are actually less than 500 years old. For 1500 years Christians who reviewed this letter from Paul to a beloved gathering in Thessalonica, did not see it as 5 chapters and 89 verses; it was just a letter. In fact, the earliest copies of this letter have no spacing between words, no punctuation, no capitalization, and no paragraphs. It was just one long string of words all bunched together. It took 1200 years before an archbishop named Steve (Stephen Langton) broke it into chapters, and another 300 before another Bob, Bob Stephens, (AKA Robert I Estienne and Robertus Stephanus), a printer living in Paris added the verse numbers to a very old version of The Bible called the Vulgate (Latin, meaning “vulgar”, the vernacular language or speech used by ordinary, uneducated people).
It is an excellent exercise to read an English bible that does not contain verse number, or even chapter numbers (if you can find one in print. I know you can find one online). The whole flavor, meter, arc, and context of a letter (Epistle) comes to new life when we read it this way. I encourage you to try it. I’m pretty sure the three words “pray without ceasing” will feel far less “hidden”.
In His service
KP
I hadn’t given that any thought, but yes, when Paul wrote the letter, he certainly didn’t assign chapter and verse numbers.
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