Praying with Paul: Sincere Desires

Intro:

2 Thessalonians 3:5 NKJV

5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

Tonight, we will continue [Praying with Paul] and the title of my message is [Sincere Desires].

Sincere means, genuine and honest. When we hear the word sincere, we might also think:

honest

genuine

real

true

open

heartfelt

wholehearted

Insincere means, pretending what one does not feel

deceitful

lying

false

pretended

hollow

untrue

dishonest

How can we tell the difference between someone who is sincere and insincere?

Let’s think of apologies for a moment. Two of my relatives once apologized to my mom. One of them said, I am very sorry for what I said, will you please forgive me. She was emotional and very sincere.

The other said, I am sorry you heard what we said. My mother added, well it was very hurtful. To which this relative replied, I already apologized, okay?

One was genuine and honest and the other was pretending.

When it comes to sincerity, it is safe to say that Paul was a genuine and honest man. Throughout his writings we Paul included everything. He did not shy away from what the Spirit directed Him to do or say.

His prayer life was also sincere. He brought everything before the Lord. He did not exclude difficulties or celebrations. He prayed.

I think sincerity in our prayer life is of utmost importance.

If there is anyone we can be genuine and honest with, it is the Lord.

We never have to:

put on airs

hid our true feelings

minimize our experience

For one thing, God knows everything. He also wants us to be completely honest with Him.

On the other hand, we need God to root out any insincerity in our prayer life.

Matthew 6:5–6 NKJV

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

As I read what Paul prayed in this part of 2 Thessalonians, I found three sincere desires we should bring before the Lord. God is okay if we sincerely [Desire Open Doors], [Desire Deliverance], and [Desire Direction].

Let’s begin

1. Desire Open Doors

2 Thessalonians 3:1–2 NKJV

1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.

Notice Paul’s sincerity. He was an apostle, hand-selected by the Lord to take the Gospel to the world. But he was sincere and humble enough to request prayer from the Thessalonians.

He was not too puffed up with pride to realize his need for help and the Thessalonians ability to touch heaven.

What was Paul’s sincere desire?

He wanted God to open doors for him to fulfill his assignment. His specific task was to take the Lord’s message to as many people as possible.

Therefore, he wanted God to help him do this quickly and rapidly wherever he went.

We might read that and think, well that applies to Paul, but I am not called to be an apostle.

That much is true, God has called ALL of us to live out the good news of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives.

Whether it be with family, on the job, in the community, or in our relationships— each and every one of us have the responsibility to live out the Gospel.

We can never place our lives into compartments:

Church over here

Work over here

Family over here

Friends over here

Money over here

God is interested in EVERY part.

God wants us to desire that He open doors for us to do what He wants for and from us.

Isaiah 22:22 NKJV

22 The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open.

Revelation 3:8 NKJV

8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.

Paul sincerely desired that God would open doors.

2. Desire Deliverance

2 Thessalonians 3:2–3 NKJV

2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

Paul also requested that the Thessalonians would ask God to deliver them from those who came against them.

Deliverance is an important part of our walk with God. I feel at times we do not discuss deliverance too much because of a limited perspective.

It seems when I find a book on deliverance, it is about the work of demons and how God can deliver people from demonic strongholds.

And I believe that there are those who are under demonic influence, even possession, who need deliverance.

We should never shy away from the authority that we have over Satan.

BUT, focusing solely on deliverance from demons, we limit ourselves on the God’s power to deliver each and every day.

It helped me to read that even Paul prayed for God to deliver.

The word deliver literally means, to rescue from danger, or to save.

Matthew 6:13 NKJV

13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

God sincerely desires to rescue or deliver us from the attacks of the enemy. We must sincerely ask and believe that He will.

As the Lord delivers and rescues us, He will establish and guard us. He will give us strength. What a wonderful God we serve!

Paul sincerely desired God to open doors and to deliver. Then he concluded his prayer by showing his...

3. Desire Direction

2 Thessalonians 3:4–5 NKJV

4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you. 5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.

Paul now shows a key to successful prayer. We are to have confidence that He will answer. Sincere prayers trust that God will hear us.

When we think confidence, also think convinced. God has convinced us through His track record that He is ABLE to delivery.

Paul’s confidence was properly placed. His trust was in God not in the Thessalonians. But he did believe that their prayers would reach God and He would answer.

Paul exuded confidence:

Philippians 1:6 NKJV

6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

What did Paul emphasize confidence here, right after trusting God for deliverance?

Paul knew that satan does not let go easily. He wants to keep a firm grip on our lives. But Paul thoroughly convinced that as they continued to draw close to God in prayer, the Lord would help them do all that God called them to do.

Then he desired that the Lord would direct their hearts into:

love of God

patience of God

When we read that we might think, love sounds good, but patience, not so much.

There is a reason Paul put love first. When we fall more in love with Jesus, we will have patience with ourselves and with others.

We all know the struggle of being patient with others, but what about ourselves.

There are some people who are their worst critic. They will have great patience with people, and then get really hard on themselves.

But the love of God changes our perspective. When we recieved God’s direction, He will lead and guide us.

Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

We can pray with confidence that God will direct us to His love and patience.

Close:

We have all been around sincere and insincere people. Between the two, I have found life is much more enjoyable with those who are sincere, genuine, and honest.

It is difficult, and almost impossible, to develop a friendship with someone who is insincere. If they pretend to be someone they are not, how can we ever trust them?

The same can be said of our relationship with the Lord.

How can we really grow in our walk with God if we are never sincere with Him?

We will enjoy our walk with God more if we are sincere.

Then we can honestly and genuinely ask God to:

open doors

deliver us

direct us

So let’s pray that God will help us become sincere in EVERYTHING we do!