Prayer Request - 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Copyright October 7, 2018 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

The Apostle Paul did not have an easy ministry. In 2 Corinthians he reported,

I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. 24Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. 27I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. (2 Corinthians 11:23-27)

Here was a man who knew what it was like to serve the Lord under pressure. He knew what it meant to count the cost. Paul suffered greatly because of the gospel. However, He also was used greatly by God to bring thousands of people to faith.

This morning we are going to go back and listen to the insights of the greatest church planter of all. Paul is going to tip us off to the key to his "success" in ministry. It is not a program, it is not a philosophy of ministry, and it is not the personality of the lead Pastor. Paul helps us understand that the key is prayer. One of the places we find this is in the words of 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. 2Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. 3But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 4And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. 5May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

Let's look at what Paul tells us.

Prayer Facilitates Evangelism

Paul asked the church to pray for them. Paul sees prayer as their lifeline. Amid all the persecution and opposition, Paul asked for the power and protection that can come only from God and only through prayer.

The key to evangelism is not a method or program. It is about hearts changing and being receptive to the Word of truth about Jesus and His sacrifice for our sin. This is something God must do.

Paul asked the church to pray for two things: first, that the message would spread quickly and second that it would be honored. When he prays for the message to be honored he is asking for the message to be treated as the truth of God. We could say Paul is asking the church to pray that the message gets proclaimed widely and that those who hear will embrace the message and the Savior who is the center of that message.

Richard Pratt in his commentary wrote

Desiring for his gospel ministry to make rapid progress and glorify God, Paul appealed to his friends for prayer. He realized that the success of God’s Word does not rely on natural factors such as oratorical ability and a dynamic personality. Rather, since the gospel aims to bring spiritually dead unbelievers to saving faith, it relies on God’s power to convey spiritual life to those who hear and believe. Since the gospel requires the Holy Spirit’s working to open the hearts of those who would otherwise never believe, Paul knew that prayer is needed for the gospel to speed ahead and glorify God.

No Pastor, program, or witness can do what only the Holy Spirit can do: awaken a person who is dead in sin so they can respond to the message of God's love and grace.

If we want to see this church make an impact in the world, we must pray. We must fervently ask God to give us opportunities with people and to speak through us to hearts that have been prepared by Him, so they will respond and cling to Him as their Savior and Lord.

Jesus said for a person to be "saved" they must be "born again." Then he went on to say,

Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. (John 3:6)

We can lead great meetings, we can give inspiring talks, sing touching songs, but only the Holy Spirit can change a heart and life. This is why we should pray that God would change hearts and lives. That is the primary tool to evangelism.

Do you have a family member or friend who has not come to believe in Christ? Are you praying for them? You can send them all the books, CD's and notes you can produce but until the Holy Spirit changes their heart, they will not respond! So pray, pray, and pray some more.

Prayer is a weapon that hinders evil

Next Paul said,

Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. 3But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

In Ephesians 6 Paul told us that we are fighting a supernatural battle against "evil spirits in dark places." To fight this battle, he told us to put on the full armor of God: the Belt of Truth, The shoes of peace, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit. And the tool we most often neglect is

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Prayer is one of the greatest defenses against the Devil and his army! When Jesus was in the garden before He was arrested, He told His disciples to pray. When the disciples had trouble healing a demon-possessed child, Jesus told them their techniques were not the key: it was prayer. Jesus spent hours and hours in prayer. If the Son of God needed to pray, how much more do we need to pray?

Prayer activates the army of Heaven on our behalf. Prayer provides for us the strength we need to stand, the words we need to speak, and the protection we need from the schemes of the Devil.

Prayer also activates the armies of Heaven on behalf of others. Author Derek Prime said, "Christians who neglect corporate prayer are like soldiers who leave their front-line comrades in the lurch."

When the Berlin wall came down many people attributed it to the diplomacy and toughness of Ronald Reagan. The Christians in Germany however, attributed it to the fact that Christians all throughout the country were praying. Is there someone you know who is caught in the grip of Satan? Is there someone facing a fierce group of antagonists? Do you wish you can help? YOU CAN! PRAY for the power of God to be unleashed in this situation. People are never stronger than when others are Praying for them.

Some of you can testify to this fact. You were going through a dark and horrible time and you KNEW your friends and brothers and sisters in Christ were praying. You knew it because you saw, felt, and experienced God's strengthening power holding you up.

If others can feel that power, despite how feeble our prayers . . . what could happen if we truly and fervently prayed? We would see God answer in a way that was exceeding abundantly beyond all we could ask or imagine.

Prayer Naturally Strengthens and Empowers Us

And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. 5May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

Why is Paul confident in the Thessalonians? Three reasons: First, Paul had prayed for them. Second, Paul knew THEY prayed. Third, he knew that people who truly pray are motivated and empowered by God to serve Him in holiness and truth.

If you spend a great deal of time with a person or a group of people (like in a factory, office, fraternity, or just a group of friends) you will begin to take on their mannerisms. If you spent enough time in the south, you would talk with a drawl. If you spent significant time in England you might pick up a bit of an English accent and if you spent a lot of time with an Australian, you would pick up their accent (my niece is marrying a chap from Australia and we don't have to be around him long before we start picking up Australian phraseology).

Follow me here . . . since this is true, it only figures that a person who spends significant time in the presence of the Lord will begin to take on some of the characteristics of His holiness and begin to view other people with His eyes and relate to them with His heart. In other words, prayer is the door (along with His Word) that allows His character to enter our lives. The more time we spend with Him, the more of His character we will begin to develop.

Once we grow in Him, our patience, anchored to trust, will begin to grow. In other words, because we have learned from our personal relationship with Him and the answers we have had to our prayers, we will panic less, pray more, and wait patiently.

Applications

It is an enticing picture, isn't it? But for most, it is also a frustrating picture. We are frustrated by the fact that we know we should pray, it makes sense to pray, and power is found through prayer, but we struggle. I think we struggle for many reasons.

First, we struggle because we have trouble being still. We are used to being bombarded with information constantly. We can ask Google a question and get an immediate answer. Our schedules are jammed packed. Any quiet moment is spent watching television or playing on our phone. The Internet is ever near and with it comes thousands of popular distractions. Before we ever can truly communicate with God we will need to learn how to listen for the whisper of His voice. We must unplug and find some quiet time.

Second, we are used to Thees and Thous kind of prayer. It is kind of like having to use the right protocol to talk to the Queen of England. It is awkward and unnatural.

True prayer however is intimate. It is like a husband and wife who are free to share their secrets behind closed doors. Prayer is the most honest and intimate conversation available to us. Trying to sound holy while you pray only makes God laugh. It's not who you are. Just be yourself! Talk to Him from the depth of your being.

Third, we don't feel God is listening. We have not seen any sure answers to prayer. . . at least we aren't sure we have seen those things. There are possible reasons for this: first, it is likely we never asked for anything specific. Much of our praying is innocuous. We ask God to bless someone or to "be with" them. How would you know if that request was answered? What do we mean by "healed"? Isn't death the ultimate healing?

Let's say a husband asks his wife if there is someplace she would like to go on vacation. She responds, "Honey, it is not where we go, it is the fact that we are together." As vacation rolls around she asks, "So, what are we doing on vacation." He says, "I thought we would save the money and stay home and do some of the things we have been meaning to do here." The next day, his wife tells her friends: "My husband never takes me on a nice vacation." Here's the thing: she did not get what she wanted but she didn't ask for what she wanted.

Prayer is like this. the more specific you are, the easier it will be to note God's answers to prayer.

Fourth, let's face it, sometimes we don't see answers to prayer because we don't expect to see answers to prayer. We say the words, because we know it is what we are supposed to do, but, we don't think God is going to answer us. James warns us,

But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.(James 1:6-7)

If we don't believe God is going to answer prayers, we aren't talking to HIM. We are talking to ourselves or to others who are listening. To pray effectively we need to believe God's power to do "abundantly beyond all we can ask or imagine" and we need to believe that God is willing to do that in my life and in yours!

Prayer is an untapped resource. The more attention we give to prayer, the greater we will see Him work in our lives and the life of others. And the more you pray for God to raise up leaders, to provide resources, and open doors of opportunity for this church, the more we will see the hand of God moving in those we love and throughout our community.

It was the reformer John Calvin who wrote,

If we know God as the sovereign giver of all good, who invites us to pass on our request, and yet we don't bother to come to him, it won't help us one bit. It is as if we had been told about some buried treasure but allowed it to stay in the ground. (Calvin, Institutes)

We know prayer is important. The question most of us have is how do we start praying more effectively?

True prayer takes time. Find a place where you can talk to God that is free from distraction. You might even choose a place that is dark and quiet where you will not be disturbed or tempted by the things around you.

Pray thoughtfully. Think about what you want from the Lord. What is it that you want God to do? Be as specific as possible. Ask God to change your heart if you are asking for the wrong thing.

Pray as often as you can. They don't all have to be long and intercessory prayers, perhaps it would be good now and then just to greet the Lord and acknowledge His presence.

Pray for what God says He wants from us as you read the Bible. God wants different things for us than we naturally want for our friends and family. We want things to be pleasant, He wants growth.

Keep a prayer list. It is tempting to use this list as a checklist you check off every day after you mumble a few words. Don't feel that you need to pray for everything on the list every day. Pray as you sense the need for prayer. Use the list as a reminder of what needs should be remembered and what you have asked of the Lord (so you will see His responses).

Pray for the church local and international. Our job is to support each other. Pray that our church might serve as a Beacon of God's grace. This isn't about size, it is about doing God's work in this community and wherever God takes the seeds of our work.

You may always struggle with prayer. Satan hates praying saints. But don't give up. There is way too much at stake. There is work to be done and we won't be able to do it unless we are fueled by His power and grace. The only way to get this power and grace is to pray and be available. Your family needs you to pray. Our country needs you to pray. Christians around the world covet your prayers. Each one of us would welcome your prayers. Pray That God strengthen us for the myriad of people who have problems and need help.

This is a battle. Our greatest weapon is prayer. Don't leave home without it.