Read 1 Thessalonians 3:1-4. Ephesians 3:16-19
We live in an age of instant communication. The phone means that we can instantly chat with almost anyone around the world. The internet means that we can access information from almost anywhere, about anything, at any time. The social media networks (Face Book, Twitter, Linked In, My Space, Google + and so on) mean that we can communicate literally anything on our minds to our fans and friends. One face book message I happened to read was a note of appraisal from a spouse for the romantic dinner that they had just had and for the willingness of the other spouse to get dessert ready. In between dinner and desert this Face Book fanatic told the world about his dinner and soon to be served dessert!
In Paul’s day communication was slower than snail mail in Siberia! It took months to get word to friends and family who lived in other regions or countries. It’s for this reason that Paul sends Timothy to the Thessalonians to encourage them, to strengthen them and to make sure that they weren’t put off by reports of their own persecution. Even though Paul had warned them that this would happen (which it did) he wanted to send Timothy to them as a reassurance that they weren’t turned off or discouraged by this persecution.
But Paul’s approach to others went beyond the physical. He wrestled day and night in prayer for all the believers he had made and met over the years. It’s obvious from Ephesians 3:16-19, and many other similar prayers in his letters, that Paul prayed for the spiritual well being of his brothers and sisters. He cared more for their holiness and righteousness than their “happiness”. He cared more that they were growing in Christ-likeness than their asset base.
Compared to living in Paul’s day, you and I are truly blessed. We can use our instant communication to bless people, to build them up and to benefit them. We can use Face Book or Twitter or even the old fashioned mobile phone to build each other up in the faith. One church was so switched on that they sent a bible verse to each member each day just to encourage them! We can make the most of this instant communication to bless believers world wide. When’s the last time you skyped a missionary or posted a bible verse or prayer on their Face Book page?
Unlike Paul we don’t have to wait months to hear how people are going. Like Paul we can also be praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Like Paul let us endeavour to pray prayers that have eternal value. Prayers regarding our physical health and physical things have some value but they really should take a back seat to growth in godliness, maturation in the love of God and similar prayers that endure through eternity. Scour the pages of Paul’s prayers and you’ll find dozens of prayer relating to Christ-likeness, to spiritual health, to maturity in Christ and so on. Keep scouring and you’ll find comparatively few prayers that related to the physical. Of course they are present but in comparatively less volume.
When you pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, when you bring your congregational members before the Lord what are you praying for? Are you praying prayers that have eternal value? Are you praying prayers that touch a person’s core relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you praying for real, deep inner change that brings the Christ-light to the surface to shine out brightly? It’s time for a reformation in our prayers so as to bring them more into line with the prayers of Scripture.
Prayer:
Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
V Choose five members/families of your congregation and pray that God would grow them in love for Christ, in understanding of His love for them and in their ability to communicate that love with non believers.
V Pray that God would grow the elders of your church in wisdom and knowledge of Scripture. Ask the Lord to make them men who seek to apply God’s Word to their own hearts and lives before they apply it to anyone else. Pray that these men would grow in holiness and righteousness.
Discussion Questions For Families and Groups
1. Have your prayers been based more on the physical or the spiritual in the past? Why do you think this is?
2. How can we ensure that our prayers are balanced?
3. If a church’s prayers are unbalanced towards the physical, how can the individual bring change?
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