Paul's Prayer

Introduction

Paul has just encouraged the believers at Thessalonica by reminding them that, though they may suffer persecution and tribulation in this life, there is coming a day when they will be rewarded and those who have troubled them will be punished.

Now he assures them of his constant prayers for them and then he begins to share with them the substance of his praying.

He begins with again mentioning their worthiness, this time of the calling of God to enter His kingdom and be used in His service. This is a common refrain from the apostle Paul to the churches. I Thessalonians 2:12- walk worthy of God/Ephesians 4:1/ Colossians 1:10- worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing

Paul is simply praying that they would live ins such a way as to honor Christ and prove themselves worthy of the sacrifice that He has made for them.

It is Paul’s sincere desire that the believers in Thessalonica would bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ and not reproach. This would be determined by how they live their lives in testimony for Christ.

If you and I will live as we should, we will both glorify the name of Christ in this present time and also be glorified in Jesus Christ in the time to come.

This will all be accomplished by the grace of God which works in us- I Corinthians 15:10- by grace I am what I am

Paul makes two statements concerning the substance of his prayers for the church at Thessalonica. His prayer is that the believers would “fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness” and that they would carry out the “work of faith with power”.

The first statement expresses Paul’s desire that the believers in Thessalonica would exhibit:

Christ-like Character

One way that the believers in Thessalonica could glorify the name of Christ was by reflecting His character in their own lives.

I John 4:17- “… as he is, so are we in this world.” Our character is to be a reflection of the character of Christ if we are to glorify His name.

Ephesians 4:1-3- this passage begins to reveal to us some of the aspects of the character of Christ that we are to emulate.

We should reflect his humility. Arrogance and pride will never bring glory to the name of Christ.

We should reflect his meekness. This speaks of being gentle towards others, if we are to honor and glorify Christ we must not be abrasive and harsh but kind.

We should reflect his longsuffering. We should be patient and tolerant of others and willing to forbear. We cannot afford to be short-tempered or easily agitated if we are to glorify the name of Christ.

We should reflect his love. This is the overriding quality of His character and is what motivates every other aspect of it. We should strive to love supremely as Christ did. He loved not only those who loved him in return, but also His enemies and those who persecuted and mocked Him.

If we profess to be a Christian, let us strive to reflect the character of Christ so that we may bring glory to His name and not reproach.

One of the great tragedies of modern Christianity is the failure of believers to reflect the character of Christ. More damage has been done the the cause of Christ by believers who have not only failed to reflect the character of Christ but have embodied character the very opposite of that of Christ.

How many professing Christians are proud, abrasive, hateful, and short-tempered? What a shame that this character has come to be identified with the name of Jesus Christ.

Let us strive to be truly Christ-like in our character so that the world may see Christ in us

The second statement expresses Paul’s desire that the believer in Thessalonica would exhibit:

Christ-like Conduct

You and I have a responsibility to stand in Christ’s stead (II Corinthians 5 :20) carrying on the work that Christ began and has now been committed to our trust.

Paul prayed that the believers in Thessalonica would not only reflect the character of Christ, but that they would work the work of faith in power carrying on the work that Christ started.

Our Christ-like character will bring glory to God and our Christ-like conduct will as well. The work that Christ came to do has now been entrusted to you and I as believers in Christ. It is our duty to continue the work of faith in the power of the Spirit of God.

Colossians 1:9-11- we need the power of God actively at work in our lives to carry out the work of God that we may produce fruit for the kingdom of God.

Luke 19:10- Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost and this is also the work that we have now been commissioned to carry on.

We may also look at the instructions that Christ left to his disciples just prior to his ascension that we may better understand the work that we are called to do.

Matthew 28:18-20- this gives to us our responsibility. We have been called to continue the work of Christ in this world.

Luke 4:18-19- here Christ describes his purposes in coming to the earth and you and I as Christians are called to continue this work.

The work of God in this world is carried out by faithful believers who diligently seek God’s will for their lives and strive to carry it out in the power of the Spirit of God.

There is a work for each of us to do to contribute to the advancement of Christ’s kingdom and we are each enabled to do the work that God has called us to do by the power of the Spirit of God which resides within us.

Our works are the evidence of our faith (James 2:18) and by our works we have the opportunity to bring glory to the name of Christ.

Conclusion

You and I will experience a complete glorification one day, but we have the opportunity to bring glory to the name of Christ right now and this is what Paul was praying would take place in Thessalonica among the believers there.

Our character and conduct will either bring glory or reproach to the name of Christ. Let us exhibit Christ-like character and conduct so that we may bring glory to His name.

The world is watching those who name the name of Christ and they will form an opinion of Christ and Christianity based upon what they witness in us.

May God help us to fulfill all the will of God for our lives by being conformed to the image of Christ and carrying out the work that God has called us to do!