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1 Thessalonians 5:17
PAUL DETAILS THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE (5:16–18)
Paul’s brief commands here could have constituted a single verse, but Stephanus (who broke the Bible into chapters and verses in AD 1551) decided they were of individual importance, and he was right. Paul has been discussing social relationships in the church, but now he turns to the spiritual qualities that must characterize the saints and selects three—joy, prayer, and thanksgiving. These represent the kind of life that pleases God and fulfills his will for us. The movement in this section is quite logical—from social responsibilities (vv. 14–15) to spiritual duties (vv. 16–18) to the work of the Spirit in prophecy (vv. 19–22). These are three critical aspects of congregational life and apparently were areas in which the Thessalonian Christians needed to grow.
(1) “Rejoice always” (v. 16): At the very outset (1:6) Paul lauded these wonderful followers of Christ for responding to severe persecution “with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” Then in 2:19–20 he twice called them “our joy.” In other words, joy both characterizes them and is a gift they bestow on those who interact with them. They are joy and bring joy to all they meet. So this feeling of joy culminates in 3:9: “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?” Wow! What we wouldn’t give to have this said of our churches.
The Christian life was never meant to be easy, but it has always been meant to be joyous. Throughout the New Testament joy is linked to the trials of life, as in James 1:2 (“Consider it pure joy … whenever you face trials of many kinds”) or 1 Peter 1:6 (“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials”). The key is that hardships force us to abandon all pretense of controlling our lives and to throw ourselves in utter dependence on the Lord. The joy comes not from the earthly situation (Heb 12:11) but from the realization that he is now in charge and turning things around for our best (Rom 8:28). The “always” especially has these times of difficulty in mind, and the Thessalonians epitomized this new attitude.
(2) “Pray continually” (v. 17): Prayer is that spiritual ingredient which turns sorrow to joy in trying situations. This is how we surrender to the Lord and express our utter dependence on him. Yet prayer also transcends personal needs and is to be expressed “constantly” (adialeiptōs), meaning in every situation and at all times. Prayer is communication with our Father, and we should never lose contact with him. The call to continuous prayer is a hallmark of his teaching (Rom 12:12; Phil 4:6; Col 4:2; Eph 6:18) and was a feature of his own life (Rom 1:9; Phil 1:4; Eph 1:16; 2 Tim 1:3). As a father, I cannot get enough calls from my children and grandchildren. This is how I need to relate to my heavenly Father, with a constant desire to “stay in touch” with him.
The Elements of Prayer. Although prayer is, typically, an unself-conscious activity in which the person praying devotes himself to God, it is possible to distinguish various elements in prayer, as will be apparent from the discussion of the biblical data. Praise involves the recognition of who God is and what he does. It is “giving God the glory,” not in the sense of adding to his glory, which would be impossible, but of willingly (and where appropriate, publicly) recognizing God as God. Typical expressions of such praise are to be found in the psalms (Ps 148; 150). When the recognition of God’s goodness is in respect of what he has done for the one who prays, or for others, then the prayer is one of thanksgiving, for life itself, for the use and beauty of the physical universe, for Christ and his benefits (“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift,” 2 Cor 9:15), and for specific answers to prayer. Confession of sin recognizes the holiness of God and his supreme moral authority, together with the personal responsibility of the one making the confession. Confession thus involves the vindicating or justifying of God, and an explicit and unreserved recognition of sin, both as it takes its rise in sinful motives and dispositions, and as it finds outward expression. Psalm 51, David’s confession of sin regarding Bathsheba, is the classic biblical instance of a prayer of confession. Petition can be thought of as it concerns the one praying, and also as it concerns others, when it is intercession. Scripture never regards prayer for oneself as sinful or ethically improper, as can be seen from the pattern of prayer given in the Lord’s Prayer. Prayer for others is an obvious expression of love for one’s neighbor which is fundamental to biblical ethics.
Difficulties in Prayer. How creatures are able to petition God, and to receive answers to their prayers, is a mystery that Scripture does not theorize about, but asserts as fact. Thus petitionary prayer is central to biblical religion. Yet the possibility of petitionary prayer has presented difficulties for many. Why does God answer some prayers and not others? And, more fundamentally, how is God able to answer any prayers at all?
In attempting to answer the first question it is necessary to bear in mind that prayer is not to be thought of in mechanical terms. Prayer involves a personal relationship with God. So the reason why God answers one prayer and not another has nothing to do with volume or length of prayers in themselves. Because prayer involves a personal relationship with God, sincerity and unaffectedness in that relationship are of paramount importance. As already noted, there must be no hypocrisy or mere formalism in prayer. Length of prayer may be an indication of strength of desire, or it may not. Scripture contains examples of both long and short prayers.
Assuming sincerity, the most fundamental factor is the relationship between the one who prays and the express will of God. The only warrant for praying at all is that God commands it and desires it, and the only warrant for praying for some particular thing rather than for some other thing is that God wills it, or may will it. A knowledge of the will of God as it is revealed in Scripture is basic to a proper understanding of petitionary prayer and to proper conduct in prayer.
It is necessary to distinguish between those matters that God has declared that he will unfailingly grant upon true prayer being made and those matters that he may grant upon true prayer being made. The guide for prayer is not the petitioner’s own needs, either real or imaginary, nor his feelings or state of mind when he prays, nor his or others’ speculations about the future. The guide is Scripture alone. And the Scriptures distinguish between those things a person may pray for that are desirable or good in themselves and yet that are not for every believer’s highest good, and those things that concern redemption. For instance, health or wealth, or a particular career, though each is desirable and lawful, may nevertheless not be best, in the wisdom of God, for a particular individual at a particular time. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor 12:7–9) and the death of the child of David and Bathsheba (2 Sm 12:15–23) are examples of unanswered prayer. So although health or wealth may be sincerely and warrantably prayed for, yet God in his wisdom and sovereignty may decline to grant these things, they not being included in that particular array of things that are working together for the good of the believer concerned (Rom 8:28).
By contrast, the blessings of redemption—such as forgiveness of sins, sanctification, and strength and wisdom for the fulfilling of duties—are always given to those who truly pray for them (Ps 84:11; Lk 11:13; Jn 6:37; 1 Thes 4:3; Jas 1:5). Even such unqualified or unconditional blessings may come after apparent delay, or from an unexpected source, and allowance for factors such as these must be made when judging whether or not prayer has been answered. An important part of petitioning God is the discipline of conforming desires to the revealed will and the ongoing providence of God. In this sense prayer is educative for the believer. “Not my will, but thine be done” is the concern of the sincere petitioner. The exercise of faith in prayer to God is seen in submission to the express will of God. Otherwise faith becomes presumption, and humility becomes arrogance.
Behind the question, Why does God answer some prayers and not others? there is a deeper difficulty. How can God answer prayers at all? This question is usually prompted either by theological or scientific convictions. How can petitionary prayer be efficacious if God knows (and has ordained) all that is to take place in the future? Or, how can petitionary prayer be efficacious if the physical universe is governed by exceptionless regularities? These difficulties can both be expressed as follows: how can petitionary prayer be effective in a situation in which the outcome is already ordained or determined? Or, how can God intervene in answer to prayer if there are physical laws that govern the whole of the natural order? In answering these questions it is necessary to see that the objections behind petitionary prayer are, if valid, also objections to any kind of human activity whatsoever. If petitionary prayer is rendered impossible by God’s sovereignty, then so are such basic activities as walking and talking. For if God has already ordained the future, what use is there in doing anything?
There has been a tendency since the 18th-century Enlightenment, particularly through the influence of deism and of Immanuel Kant (d. 1804), to restrict prayer to acts of passive acceptance of and acquiescence to the divine will. In the words of Albrecht Ritschl (d. 1889) “prayer is the expression of humility and patience, and the means of confirming oneself in these virtues.” This restricted view of prayer is taken because petitionary prayer is thought to be inconsistent with the universal reign of law and because to ask for things for oneself is judged to be unethical and impious.
But views of this kind rest on a radical misunderstanding. The biblical portrayal of God is not of one who has set a mechanical universe in motion, but of one who knows the end from the beginning and who, upholding all things by his power, works these things according to the counsel of his own will (Is 46:9, 10; Heb 1:3; Eph 1:11). To do this God uses human activities such as walking, talking, and praying. In the overall providence of God prayer is one means among many by which God has chosen to reach his ordained purposes. He has ordained the ends and the petitionary prayers of believers as one of the means to those ends. In Ezekiel the Lord promises a new heart and a new heritage to the people, yet desires to be prayed to for these things (Ez 36:33–38). As the hymn writer Joseph Hart quaintly but concisely puts it:
Prayer was appointed to convey
The blessings God designs to give.
But what of those occasions on which God is said to “repent” of the carrying out of an expressed threat or promise? (Ex 32:14; 2 Sm 24:16; 1 Chr 21:15; Jer 26:19; Jon 3:10). Are such expressions consistent with his unchanging character and will? Do they not convey the impression that petitionary prayer can actually change the will of God? Can God be sincere in telling King Hezekiah that he will not recover and then, shortly afterward, bringing about Hezekiah’s recovery in answer to prayer? (2 Kgs 20; Is 38). Did God intend Hezekiah to recover, or not? The most satisfactory way of approaching this problem is to bear in mind that in Scripture the warrant of any prayer is God’s promise. When God says “Hezekiah will not recover,” a condition such as “unless prayer is made for his recovery” is to be understood. So what God intends is the recovery of Hezekiah upon prayer being made for him, knowing that the prayer will be made. In other words, in his wisdom God is willing to grant certain things upon persistent prayer being made for them, and the assertion “Hezekiah will not recover” is intended to elicit that believing prayer that God has ordained as a means to the recovery of Hezekiah. There is nothing here that is inconsistent with either God’s changelessness or his eternal foreknowledge of all events, or with the efficacy of petitionary prayer.
If it is asked, “Why does God go to such lengths?” we must look for an answer in two directions. One part of the answer is the educative function of prayer—to teach his children their entire dependence on him for all their good. The other part of the answer is to be found in God’s sovereignty, in the day-to-day and moment-to-moment dependence of his people upon him.
The alternative to this view, that petitionary prayer does change God’s will, is fraught with difficulties. It represents God as having continually to adjust his will to the desires of his creatures, and it implies that God does not know what is going to happen in his universe until people petition him and he decides what to do in the light of their requests.
The difficulties raised by views of scientific law do not seem to be different in principle from those just discussed. It is argued that natural science presents us with a view of the universe as totally “closed,” totally subject to law-like operations. How, it is asked, can prayer be genuinely efficacious in such circumstances? For example, how can a person’s health be restored in answer to prayer when the causes of sickness and health are solely physical? These questions neglect the fact that from a theistic standpoint physical laws are simply human accounts of observed regularities. On a theistic view of physical nature, God ordains not only the laws of nature (to which scientific laws are approximations) but also the actual course of events occurring in accordance with these laws. The ultimate cause of things is not the operation of natural forces and the occurrence of certain chance events “in the beginning,” but the creative will of God, who ordains both the law-like regularities and, should he choose to do so, exceptions to these. So that science presents no problems for petitionary prayer not already present in theological discussions about it.
It must be stressed that the duty to pray does not depend in any way on being able finally to solve all the difficulties associated with prayer. According to Scripture the duty and privilege of prayer is founded on the command of God to pray.
Motives for Prayer. In the broadest terms the motive for prayer is the fact that God commands it. More particularly, the motives for prayer are the glory of God and the good of the one who prays and of those for whom he prays. These ends are not in conflict since the biblical picture is of God being glorified in the blessing of his people (Eph 1:6). More particularly still Scripture provides us with many different motives for prayer which throw light on the character of prayer itself. In the case of petitionary prayer prominent among these motives is the need for forgiveness of sins (1 Jn 1:8, 9), freedom from anxiety (Phil 4:6, 7), deliverance from temptation (Mt 26:41) and the provision of temporal needs (Mt 6:11). Undergirding all of these is the recognition that men depend upon God for all good things. Undoubtedly one of the reasons why prayer has such a prominent position in biblical religion is
An exchange of confidence. Prayer is an exchange of confidence: we assume the stance of a trusting child and pray with faith that is matched by obedience; God remembers our frailty, loves us as his children, hears and answers our prayers. Biblical praying must be set in contrast with many other schemes for influencing deity common in the ancient Near East. Biblical faith excludes any attempts to use magic or formula to control or placate God. Elijah offers a simple, straightforward prayer clearly rooted in his relationship with God, “I am your servant,” while the priests of Baal vainly seek to win the favor of deity through “frantic prophesying” and bloodletting (1 Kings 18:16–38 NIV).
Our posture of trust and obedience. In many societies certain times and postures become symbols of prayer: a bowed head, closed eyes, folded hands or a kneeling position. In Scripture, posture, movement and time are mentioned in relationship with prayer, but no single time, place, gesture or posture becomes a metonymy for prayer. When Hezekiah prayed for deliverance he took a threatening letter to the temple and “spread it out before the LORD” (Is 37:14 NIV). People pray while standing, kneeling, lying down, lifting their hands, sitting, bowing or pounding their chest. The physical activity symbolizes an engagement of the whole being in the act of praying. But the bodily symbol is significant only if it accurately reflects the heart’s position toward God.
Prayer is deeply affected by the fact that human beings look “on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7 NIV). Long prayers in public places oppose the stance that Jesus taught (Mk 12:40). Likewise, even eloquent prayers are shunned if they are spoken by the unrighteous (Prov 28:9; Is 16:12). The posture most important in prayer is a posture of rest (trust in God) and of action (obedience).
There is a deep and necessary connection between our praying and our living (Prov 15:24; Jas 5:16). Moses and Samuel are singled out as ones who prayed effectively (Jer 15:1). Jesus modeled the posture of submitted action as he prayed in Gethsemane: “May your will be done” (Mt 26:42). Most important, his lifestyle and prayers said the same thing (Heb 5:7). Those whose prayers God honors come to him with humility and trust, as a child to a father or like a weaned child in a mother’s lap (Ps 131:2), seeking love and a sense of belonging.