Reading… and Thinking

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

– 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 (NIV)

Many times in his letters, Paul breaks suddenly into prayer. He speaks at times of "praying constantly", and it's clear that he really did. What a great example he is for us! If only we were so quick to pray, and so constant at it.

I think that more than anything, it's a matter of training ourselves. You might say, forming the habit, but I think that just a habit would miss the point. Paul genuinely cared about people, and about the work of preaching.

The most effective way of helping the people he loved, and the work which was his life, was to seek the Lord's blessing. So he made a conscious point of praying all the time. This became the pattern of his life.

We can train ourselves to pray. I know that I need to do far better in this area. As a start, what does Paul pray for in this passage?

• To be brought back to these believers for a visit.
• That the believers’ love might increase.
• That they might be holy and blameless, and find salvation at the Lord's return.

Fellowship, spiritual growth, salvation. Wonderful things to pray for!

There are other prayers that come up in Paul's writings – in fact dozens of them. Once you're looking for them, you'll find his little prayers all over. We can incorporate these same themes into our own prayers. And we can even emulate Paul in the way he does them. In the middle of a letter, he breaks into prayer. What is to stop us from (perhaps in our own minds) breaking into prayer at work, in class, in a conversation, when we’re driving, when we’re reading? Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we can pray!

The Lord watch over and bless you, increase your knowledge of Him and your love of Him, and save you for His eternal kingdom!