Prayer's of Paul reading plan day 8.

As a church family at Bethel Baptist church in Brookings, SD we are spending the next two weeks reading through most of the prayers of Paul.  Each day I will share my thoughts and reflections on here the day after the reading.  The encouragement was that we would read the assigned passages, write down some observations about what we read, and use those prayers to help us in our prayers that day.  Monday's readings were 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, and soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."  

       God here is described as the God of peace and Paul prays to the God of peace for two things.  First, he prays that the God of peace would sanctify them completely.  Sanctify is a word that is not very common today but we could simply say that Paul is praying that they would become like Jesus in every way.  A big prayer indeed, but an important prayer.  We ought to be regularly praying that our brothers and sisters in Christ would be more like Jesus in every aspect of their life.  Secondly, Paul prays that they their whole spirit, soul, and body would be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul is praying that when Jesus Christ returns that the believers would be blameless and therefore able to enter into the presence of God.  Paul prays this with complete confidence as is seen in how he concludes his prayer... "He who calls you is faithful, he will surely do it."  Why is Paul able to pray with such confidence?  Since what He prays for is already done because of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Our blamelessness is already complete if we are in Christ because God looks upon us and sees the perfection of Christ.  So in this prayer Paul is praying that we would become more like Jesus in our day to day life and prays with full confidence that we will be blameless at the coming of Christ.  

2 Thessalonians 1:3

"We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing."  

       Here we read one of Paul's prayers of thanksgiving and as is typical with many of his prayers of thanksgiving he thanks God for the work that He is doing in the lives of others.  There are two specific things he thanks God for in this prayer.  He thanks God that their faith is growing and he thanks God that their love for one another is increasing!  Do you have people in your life whose faith and love are growing?  Have you seen your faith and love growing?  If yes, praise and thank God for that because those are things that only God can do in us!  

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."  

       Here Paul prays that the believers would live lives worthy of God's calling on there life.  What an important prayer that we can be praying for one another.  Too often we forget to whom we belong. We forget who are Father is.  We forget that we belong to the God of the universe.  Paul, here is praying that they wouldn't forget that and by remembering who we belong to that we would live a life worthy of belonging to God.  Why?  So that God would be glorified!  So let's pray today that you and I, and our brothers and sisters in Christ would walk more in a way that is worthy of the one who called us because as we do that Jesus Christ is glorified and exalted!  

What are you learning?