1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 / Are We Praying?

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 / Are We Praying?

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord.

I was talking recently with a few guys about Philippians 2, where Paul says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

We talked about how to do this well, and one idea was praying more for people. If you think about it, how much we pray for others is often a good indicator of how much we care for them.

So with that in mind, I came across this passage in 1 Thessalonians where Paul says he is always thanking God, and constantly praying for others.

Paul set the example for us in caring for the church and pouring his life out so that others could know and follow God. His genuine care spills out onto every page of the letters he wrote to those he loved. A big part of his care for others flowed out of his passionate prayer on their behalf.

So here is my challenge to you this week:

Take a moment to get quiet before God and evaluate what percentage of your prayer is focused on you, and what percentage is focused on others.

Is the focus of your prayer mainly on you? If so, ask the Lord to give you a passion and genuine desire to intercede for others.

Spend some time writing out a list of those you want to pray for, ask God to prompt your heart with names and faces who need prayer.

You will find your heart being knit to those you bring before the throne. You may never know what those prayers accomplish in their lives, but we know that “the prayer of a righteous person avails much!”

Set aside a day, or a couple of days a week to pray solely for others. Pour over your list and passionately intercede on their behalf.

Pray that God would enlarge your heart through these times, and would broaden your perspective to see the things He is doing in and through those around you.

My prayer for our church is that we would be a people who passionately prays for each-other and gets to experience the joy that comes with seeing God do amazing things!

Have a blessed week!

Pastor Dave