Pure Prayer Plan

Let’s think about our prayer lives. Too often, many of us have prayers that are dealing only with the here and now. We cover areas like our health, our finances, our emotions, our pleasures, our jobs, our grades in school, meeting the right person, and the list goes on and on. Don’t misunderstand; I’m not saying that we should stop praying about those areas. I’m just suggesting that maybe we ought to think a bit more deeply; more in line with the areas in which Jesus prayed, or even Paul.

I just read about a cult that most of us have probably not read too much about. It was quite fascinating and somewhat representative of a lot of the false theology that is so popular among some. This cult is known as the cargo cults. I’m not talking about the worship of cargo pants. This began way back in the 1800s, picking up a lot of popularity during WWII. It is found primarily in the South Pacific.

It seems that the US would use various remote islands as places to store supplies and as air bases. The islanders would see the incredible things which were brought in by plane and deposited for use later on in the war. There were airplanes, jeeps, all kinds of weapons, radios, appliances, the incredible cigarette lighters, etc. To the islanders, this was as if the Americans who flew down out of the sky to leave these supplies, must be gods. Of course, the islanders were changed forever by this strange materialism, which they’d never before experienced.

When the war was over, the islanders wanted more of this, but it was not the normal routine of incoming goods from the sky anymore. In efforts to bring back these American gods, they would chant supposed magic phrases, in hopes of getting more stuff; such as Roger, over and out; you have landing clearance, come in. Sadly, these cults still exist, consumed with materialism to the point that missionaries find it nearly impossible to share the gospel successfully. As one observer stated—they are interested in cargo, not the gospel.

That sounds sadly familiar to much of modern Christianity. People tend to be focusing on wanting God to act like a genie to grant all kinds of wishes like things, finances, health, self-pleasure, etc., rather than that which is eternal.

Today, I’m trusting that God will help us to understand that our prayers ought to be focused more on God’s will, and not be so heavy on our wants and desires for possessions and pleasures.

We should want a prayer plan that is much deeper and more intimate.

We finished last time with dealing a bit with the second coming of Christ. We remember that the idea is not to get caught up in the details about the future, but to better understand what that means for our lives in the present. That will involve looking at Paul’s prayer in 2 Thessalonians 1.11-12.

The Need for Prayer - 1.11a

2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NASB95)

To this end also we pray for you always . . .

You may recall how the apostles very clearly stated what they had been called to do in Acts 6:4: “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” As strange as it may sound, that seems to be Paul’s understanding of a spiritual leader’s job, as well. It’s not the administration, or leading of programs, or a myriad of other supposedly important things. I would have to agree that one of the greatest things I can do for this church, besides preaching and teaching, is to pray for you, just as we see Paul doing. This can be seen in the majority of his letters to various churches.

What is this end? So far, it has seemed to be focused on the spiritual growth of this church. We know that, even with our best efforts, unless God gives us the grace and strength, we don’t really grow in maturity.

Some would wonder why it is even necessary to pray. We know that God is sovereign, but He still wants us to pray for others’ spiritual growth, as well as our own. This involves praying for the ability to avoid many things which would trip us, as well as pursuing those things which would mature us. In other words, it seems that the Bible teaches both God’s sovereignty and our responsibility.

Prayer also makes a stronger connection with God’s sovereign plan. One scholar stated a powerful truth with this statement: This is parallel to God’s electing a person to salvation but using someone’s faithful witness to bring about that salvation.

The Subject of Prayer - 1.11b-d

2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NASB95)

. . . that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power

In this section, we are given three different subjects that Paul prayed about regarding the Thessalonian church. These subjects are: worthiness, fulfilling, and power.

The first area is that of being count[ed] worthy of your calling. This calling is from God and is what caused the Thessalonians to be born again. For the individual who is saved, our desire is that we would honor the Lord Jesus Christ, truly living as individuals who are saved.

You and I know that, of ourselves, we are certainly not worthy of being saved. However, once we are saved, then God’s Holy Spirit continues to do a work in our lives, causing us to become more and more like Jesus, as we surrender our will to His will. This is what we refer to as sanctification.

We might wonder what exactly constitutes a worthy walk. Looking at a multitude of biblical passages, we can give a listing of characteristics that just touches the surface - humility, purity, contentment, faith, righteousness, unity, gentleness, patience, love, joy, thankfulness, etc. It seems that the apostle John put it best in 1 John 2:6: “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

What about the second area; fulfill every desire for goodness? The word fulfill can also be translated as complete or accomplish. The word for desire could be understood as purpose or choice. We know that none of us are good, apart from being made good in Jesus Christ. In my prayer life, I should be praying that God would give me the desire to be good, even as Christ is good. That should be my heart’s longing in that I would live in such a way that I would not bring shame upon the Name of Jesus. I should be desiring the things which God desires. Again, looking throughout the Bible, God offers and is seen as the One Who provides every good thing to His children.

The third area is that of God fulfill[ing] . . . the work of faith with power. Fulfill is used in conjunction with this phrase as well as the earlier one. God has already begun this work, which Paul is praying that God would continue it in the lives of the believers. A true, genuine saving faith, will always cause spiritual fruit to be produced. We know this ever so well from James 2:14–16 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?”

It was obvious to Paul that the Thessalonians faith was real, as we recall him sharing the amazing works that were happening in the lives of these believers to other churches. His desire was that this would continue to to increase in power, in order that others would see more deeds of righteousness, which leads lead to glorify their Father Who is in heaven. This happens more readily when we are reading our Bibles and allowing the Holy Spirit to apply it to our lives and to control our lives.

What then happens as a result of allowing God to do all this in our lives?

The Result of Prayer - 1.12

2 Thessalonians 1:12 (NASB95)

so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Always, our purpose in praying about ourselves and others should be for the Name of our Lord Jesus to be glorified in everything we do. Again, without announcing it as theology, Paul uses the phrase the Name of our Lord to identify Jesus as Yahweh in the Old Testament. Throughout the prophets’ writings, their concern was not only for the people of Israel, but, more importantly, for God’s glory and honor.

It seems that if our concern is that Jesus would be glorified, then we will be glorified in Him. This sounds amazingly similar to what John stated in John 12:26 “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” And, of course, this is only possible as we are empowered by God’s grace.

Ponderings

We want a prayer life that ties everything we do, to living lives which glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously, that means we spend a whole lot less time with our grocery list of wants and what we think we need, when we pray. We need to spend more time recognizing that we are children of God only because of God’s amazing grace. The Puritan, John Owen commented: He who prays as he ought, will endeavor to live as he prays.

You know how I love history, especially history that is not well known. Let me share something I read about the Pony Express, taken from a 1991 book, entitled Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.

The Pony Express was a private express company that carried mail by an organized relay of horseback riders. The eastern end was St. Joseph, Missouri, and the western terminal was in Sacramento, California. The cost of sending a letter by Pony Express was $2.50 an ounce. If the weather and horses held out and the Indians held off, that letter would complete the entire two-thousand-mile journey in a speedy ten days, as did the report of Lincoln’s Inaugural Address.

It may surprise you that the Pony Express was only in operation from April 3, 1860, until November 18, 1861—just seventeen months. When the telegraph line was completed between two cities, the service was no longer needed.

Being a rider for the Pony Express was a tough job. You were expected to ride seventy-five to one hundred miles a day, changing horses every fifteen to twenty-five miles. Other than the mail, the only baggage you carried contained a few provisions, including a kit of flour, cornmeal, and bacon. In case of danger, you also had a medical pack of turpentine, borax, and cream of tartar. In order to travel light and to increase speed of mobility during Indian attacks, the men always rode in shirtsleeves, even during the fierce winter weather.

How would you recruit volunteers for this hazardous job? An 1860 San Francisco newspaper printed this ad for the Pony Express: “Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18. Must be expert riders willing to risk [death] daily. Orphans preferred.”

Those were the honest facts of the service required, but the Pony Express never had a shortage of riders.…

Like the Pony Express, serving God is not a job for the casually interested. It’s costly service. He asks for your life. He asks for service to Him to become a priority, not a pastime.

My friends, I believe we could attach the same way of thinking to our prayer lives. We should want a prayer plan that is much deeper and more intimate.