A Call to Spiritual Reformation ch5b

I am doing a series of posts on the book by Don Carson, "A Call to Spiritual Reformation", which I am reading slowly but steadily at the moment. You might like to join me.
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Chapter Five: A Passion for People - 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 (Second Half) (The first half was way back here.)

This chapter is based upon 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13. In the second half of this chapter, Carson examines the content of Paul's prayer and asks, "What is it exactly he is praying about?" Carson identifies four things.

1. "Paul prays with a rich thankfulness for the people of God."
One particular feature of Paul's thankfulness is that he addresses his thanks to God, who is ultimately responsible by the grace he has extended to the Thessalonians. Yet his thanks are shared openly with the people, so that they might know and be encouraged by Paul's recognition of God's work in and through them. Carson says, "So what we need, then, is a prayer life that thanks God for the people of God, and then tells the people of God what we thank God for." Can you think of one person - perhaps your husband - who you should commit to praying with thanks for the work of God in their life? For what specific signs of God's grace will you give God thanks? Carson encourages readers to commit to praying for a person or persons in our church for several months and then, after we have prayed regularly for some time, to let the person know that we are grateful to God for them.
Secondly, Paul is not just extending some weak platitude to God, rather, he is expressing heartfelt gratitude for the delight and joy that he has experienced as a result of their faith. Why has Paul experienced such joy? Because his heart is aligned with God's purposes and he eagerly and earnestly desires those things which will bring pleasure to the heart of God and glory to His name. Do you find joy in the things that the Bible says will please God? If not, how can you work on changing your attitude so that your desires should more closely align with God's will? If so, do you thank God for giving you this joy, and for changing your heart so that you are no longer enslaved by the things of this world, but instead seek to live a life that is in step with the Spirit of God within you? Galatians 5:16-26 exhorts and encourages us in living our lives by the Spirit.

2. "Paul prays that he might be able to strengthen these believers."
Carson makes the point here that, when Paul writes of praying "night and day", he isn't speaking of praying continuously through the night and into the day. Rather, Paul is referring to the regular times he has set aside to pray, each evening and morning (remember, the Jewish perspective of the 24 hour day was that it began with what we would call the sunset of the previous day). Do you have regular times which are set aside in which to pray? How well do you keep to them? I must admit, I have been very slack about praying regularly and diligently over the past month or so while we were moving home. I have been praying, but much of it has been on an "as needs" basis. Jeff and I have been praying persistently and consistently for God's protection over our children, especially Abigail, each evening as we put them to bed. But the prayers that I pray out loud, and then again in the quietness of my mind, over my children are often shorter and less detailed than the prayers that I pray when I get out of bed early and kneel at the side of my bed in the morning. Although perhaps no less heartfelt. (Does the fact that we have floorboards rather than carpet in our new bedroom have some relevance here? I suspect so!) I need to get back to this. Mind you, a lot of my early morning discipline has gone out the window with moving house and Christmas holidays. Preparation for Joshua beginning school next week (and the need to be able to get him there by 8:50am) might just be the external prod I need to work back into mornings which are more self-disciplined and oriented on beginning my day with my Father.
In this part of his Prayer, Paul is praying about the lack he is aware of in the Thessalonians' faith (attributed not to their unwillingness to respond to teaching or the Holy Spirit but to Paul's need to leave Thessalonica before he had taught them for very long). Paul doesn't stop at asking God to meet the Thessalonians' need in some unspecified way, or even asking that God would send someone to teach them. Rather, his love or them prompts him to pray that he would be able to go to them and meet their need. Carson writes, "For Paul, prayer is not a substitute for Christian service, it is part of it. And apparently he cannot long pray for believers without longing to serve them himself." He continues, "the mindset of service should belong to all of us, especially when we pray." Is there some need you have noticed in your local church recently? Have you been praying that God will meet that need? Have you considered that He might plan for you to meet the need? For inspiration, you might want to check out Isaiah's immediate and willing response to God's call in Isaiah 6: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Paul also prays that hindrances to his service will be removed. Paul is aware that the devil has hampered his work in the past (see 1 Thess 2:18) but he also knows that God is far greater, and His will shall prevail. "These hindrances do not curtail his praying but incite him to greater fervency. They are not grounds for discouragement but for renewed intercession." This has been the case in our family over the past few weeks. Jeff's appointment as Pastor of BCC and our subsequent move to a house very close to the new church building went amazingly smoothly and we could see the hand of God parting the waters - so to speak - at each stage. However, once we had settled into our new house, we noticed that Abigail was having bad dreams, nightmares really. She was upset, and we were getting grumpy with the disruption to our sleep and becoming more argumentative as a result. So this wasn't just impacting her, it was affecting us. We were at a bit of a loss as to what to do, until one night I lay with her to cuddle her to help her sleep and found myself experiencing a horrible nightmare as well. I do have bad dreams occasionally, and I have developed the habit of praying my way out of the miasma of distress they bring, using 2Cor10:4-5 as my guide. As soon as I prayed that night, the nightmare fled from my mind. Yet soon after, Abigail was having another bad dream. I prayed for her and she calmed instantly. All of a sudden, I began to suspect that Abigail's bad dreams weren't the product of her own mind, but the result of an attack on her (and us, through her) by the devil. This is what has prompted the consistency of our evening prayers for our children in the past few weeks, and we have seen that the bad dreams have vanished completely as a result. Some would put these bad dreams down to the stress of moving home; but I know that the only thing which made any difference was prayer, and the difference prayer made was immediate! God has been very good in combating this attack and keeping our precious Abigail safe since we have re-realised the necessity of praying with and for her. So please be encouraged to pray over the struggles in your life, whether they be big or small. God can handle all of them!

3. "Paul prays that there might be an overflow of love among these believers."
A week ago we heard a sermon at Denmark Baptist based on Philemon vv4-18. Paul's letter to Philemon shows clearly that faith fulfils itself in love, especially love for the saints of God: other Christians. He also makes it clear that one natural and necessary expression of Christian love is forgiveness. Here in his prayer for the Thessalonians, Paul is dwelling on the same topic. He has given thanks for them and prayed that their faith might be built up, and now he addresses himself to the way they demonstrate that faith pracitcally: asking that their love may increase and overflow for each other (ie, the other Christians) and everyone else (ie, non-believers). Carson explains, "The enlargement Paul here envisages is not in numbers, but in spirit, strength, perspective, heart... Christian love, mature, deep, and unqualified, is a rare commodity. When it is displayed, it speaks volumes to a society that gorges itself in self-interest, lust, mutual-admiration pacts, even while it knows very little of love." Carson encourages us to follow Paul's example and pray for others in love, and pray for love to be shown by ourselves and others. Which of your relationships do you need to bathe in prayer so that you are enabled by God's grace to act in a more loving manner than you have in the past? In what ways, other than prayer, can your love for this person be fostered in Christ?

4. "Paul prays that these believers will be so strengthened in heart that they will be blameless and holy when the end comes."
Here, Paul's prayer turns to the future. As he prays that the Thessalonians' faith is built up and their subsequent love for each other grows, he naturally considers what will follow: by God's grace they will grow in sanctification, becoming more holy. Their lives will more and more reflect the fact that they are God's chosen people, and that their lives are being lived according to His purposes, rather than worldly aspirations. He prays that they may be "blameless". It is only through their justification through the atoning death of Jesus Christ that this may be fully achieved, and that has already been accomplished. However, Paul is praying that their lives may in a greater measure reflect the status which has already been won for them. He is praying that their lives as Christians may, each day, be lived more and more in accordance with God's will, in obedience to His word, in a manner which brings glory to the LORD's name. Because if this were not to happen their lives would become stagnant pools where no eternal life would flourish - they would gradually "fall away" from the faith. Just as a billabong needs fresh water from the rains, or, no longer connected to the main river, it will dry out and die, we must be continually restored by the ongoing work of God's Holy Spirit in our hearts. Salvation is achieved in the moment we turn in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. But it is also an ongoing experience. Paul wrote to the Philippians, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Paul is praying here that the Thessalonians will also "press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [you] heavenward in Christ Jesus." Because Paul knows that the final Day of Judgement will certainly come. "When we pray for people, we must do so knowing that these people, and we ourselves, are inevitably moving toward the last day, ... because people like you and me are the ones who must give account to God on the last day." Will you join me in praying this prayer?
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Next time: The Content of a Challenging Prayer - Colossians 1:9-14

[Cover image from koorong.]