The Prayer I Desire

Finally, brothers, pray for us that the Lord’s message may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you, ² and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith.
-2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Paul knew the importance of prayer. As a preacher, I know the importance of prayer as I'm working on blog posts, show outlines and sermons. But, for me, when it comes to praying for others, that's where I fall short. Sure, if someone comes and asks me for prayer, I pray for them. I also fall short in asking for prayer from others. From what I've read on Facebook posts and twitter posts, as well as some other bloggers, I think many of us have difficulty when it comes to prayer, specifically prayer for others. I know that there are those "prayer warriors" out there who can knock out demons with their prayers. I am not one of them. Paul, wasn't shy about asking for prayer. If you read through his letters that make up most of the New Testament, you can always find him asking the church for prayer. What he asks for in Second Thessalonians 3, is what I ask you to pray for ScriptureLinks and for your own ministry and church as well.

Paul writes, "Finally, brothers, pray for us that the Lord’s message may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not all have faith." Paul is asking them for three specific requests. First, "that the Lord's message may spread rapidly." Paul has a desire that all hear the Gospel. It's a desire that I have as well. I hear lots and lots of Christian people saying things like, "I just wish I could go home to be with Jesus. I'm just so tired of things here." Or, "I'm so homesick for Heaven." There is just so much wrong with those statements, in my opinion. There are so many who still need Jesus, and if Jesus returns today, there are so many who will be condemned to Hell. As a preacher of the Gospel, I desire that the Gospel spreads, and that everyone has an opportunity to meet Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to my home in Heaven, but I know there is still people that I need to minister to. Paul asks the church at Thessolanica to pray that the Gospel message spreads rapidly, so that as many people as possible hear the message. Second, he asks that they pray the message "be honored." Paul wants people to, not only hear the message, respond to it. Paul's desire was that people hear the message of the Gospel of Jesus, and then respond to it by giving their lives to Jesus. The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is life changing. But, so many people today don't honor the Gospel any longer. For all intent and purposes, the Gospel has been twisted, misused and adulterated. Many people have never heard the true, pure, life changing words of an authentic Gospel of Jesus. Even those who proclaim to be Christians twist the Gospel to suit their needs and desire. God help us.

Finally, Paul asks them to pray "that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men." If you read Paul's letters, and read about his missionary journeys in Acts, you can see how he was beaten, and how much he suffered for the Gospel. Paul knew that hard times would come. The rest of verse 2 says, "for not all have faith." We, today, continue to face hard times when it comes to sharing the Gospel. But, Paul didn't let hard times defeat his work, and we shouldn't either. Think About It. 

Are You Using Your Spiritual Gift?

¹¹And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

 ¹²For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

 ¹³Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

-Ephesians 4:11-13 (KJV)

Paul is giving a look at some of the gifts of the Spirit. Not everyone has these specific gifts, but all of us has gifts that needs to be used in the church. Are you using yours?

Verse 11 says, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;" These are all pastoral roles for the church. These are people who are in leadership positions in the church, and they have 3 primary duties to the church. Verse 12 says, "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ;"  This threefold ministry to the church included the "perfecting of the saints," We need to be trained how to live the life that Jesus expects us to live. Pastors and teachers of the Word teach us the life principles that we need to apply to our lives. Think of it this way, when we were young, we were taught how to tie our own shoes. It didn't come natural, we had to learn it. Our natural desires in life are the things in sin. We desire sinful things. We must be taught how to live life in the way Jesus expects. If the pastor or teacher of the Word fails to teach us how to live the Christian life,then we will never be the people we were supposed to be. 

Secondly, the teachers and preachers of the Word train us "for the work of the ministry," Each of us has a job to do, has some ministry that we must do for the Lord. I know some people who can shake the foundations of Heaven with their prayers, I know some who cannot. We need to be trained how to live the Christian life, so that we may do the work that Jesus has called us to. Again, if the pastor or teacher of the Word fails to teach us how to live the Christian life, we will never be the people we were supposed to be, and we'll never complete the tasks that we were supposed to complete.

The third part of the duties of the pastor or teacher of the word is the "edifying of the body of Christ;" Edifying means to "To instruct especially so as to encourage intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement.*" In other words, it means to build up, or improve spiritually. Part of the role of the pastor or teacher of the Word is to build up, or help us spiritually improve. By helping us to improve our spiritual life, we will become the people Jesus expects us to be, we will be trained and ready for the work that He wants us to complete.

Verse 13 provides for us the end result to this. "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:" Just like there is a three part ministry to the pastor or teacher of the Word, there is a three part ending as well. First, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith," The end result of us being trained on how to live the Christian life is so that we will be unified in the faith. Take a look around. Is there a unified church today? Secondly, "and of the knowledge of the Son of God," Do we really know and have a knowledge of Jesus and what He's done for us, and what He expects of us? Third, "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Are we living in the fullness of Christ? Think About It.

*source: thefreedictionary.com