Passionate Prayer

I lay prostrate before the LORD those forty days and forty nights because the LORD had said he would destroy you.--Deuteronomy 9:25 (NIV)

When Moses heard God's decree of judgment on the Israelites for their sin of worshipping the golden calf, he prayed passionately for their salvation. Moses was clear of guilt in this sin, but he prayed that God would "overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin" (v. 27). And he didn't just pray a quick prayer every morning. He prayed desperately--on his face before the Lord, eating no food and drinking no water (v.18), for forty days and forty nights! The fact that he mentioned days and nights makes me think that Moses was probably praying around the clock for almost a month and a half.

Moses didn't get discouraged after five weeks of constant prayer and fasting had seen no answer. He persevered in his prayer until God answered him. May we do the same.

Open Wide!

I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.--Psalms 81:10 (ESV)

Why do we do devotions? Why do we read our Bibles, pray, go to church, and sometimes even fast? The Bible says that we are not saved by these duties, so what's the point of doing them?

The point is: Spiritual disciplines are "opening our mouth" in God's direction. Duties like meditating on Scripture and fasting are means which God uses to give us joy. He promises in this psalm that when we look to Him for satisfaction, He will fill our hungry souls and satisfy us with "honey from the rock" (verse 16).

The exciting promise in this verse is "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." No matter how wide we open your mouths, he will always more than satisfy us. No matter how much we read our Bible, there will always be more truth to ignite our hearts. No matter how much we pray, we cannot exhaust God's blessings. In fact, the greatest hindrance to our happiness and satisfaction is not our circumstances but our own laziness in spiritual disciplines.

Look at your spiritual duties not as a way to earn God's favor but as a way to open our mouths toward God for joy--He will satisfy you.

National Day of Prayer

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.--Matthew 1:22
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.--Mark 11:24
Be constant in prayer.--Romans 12:12
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.--Col. 4:2
Pray without ceasing.--1 Thess. 5:17
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.--1 Tim. 2:1

National Day of Prayer is upon us again. While we should praying "without ceasing," a day set aside for prayer is a blessing to Christians--a reminder of the importance of prayer.

The Fourth Prayer of 2 Thessalonians

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men.  For not all have faith.

--2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 (ESV)

The fourth exhortation to prayer found in 2 Thessalonians is a direct command: "Brothers, pray for us."  Paul, a missionary, asked for prayer that more could be saved.  Since not all had faith, there was a need for the word of the Lord to spread and be honored among all nations.  In our age, we face the same situation.  Not all have faith.  In fact, some have never heard the word of the Lord.

In my last post, I wrote about salvation being the Lord's work.  One of the applications of this truth is dependence on God for missions and evangelism.  God and God alone saves.  He also loves to answer prayer.  Our prayer, made possible through Jesus's mediation, has power.  Put these truths together and the obvious application is to pray for the Lord to save.  Our prayers can--and I believe will--be answered and cause the ultimate change in many people's lives.  

May we always pray fervently that the Lord would cause His word to speed ahead and be honored for the glory of Jesus Christ and the salvation of the world.

The Third Prayer of 2 Thessalonians

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.  To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.--2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 (ESV)

The third prayer I find in 2 Thessalonians is another prayer of thanksgiving.  Paul thanks God for his divine election of the Thessalonian Christians.  What is "divine election"?  Divine election is a Calvinist or "Reformed" doctrinal persuasion that God chooses those who come to salvation; men do not choose God.  Many terms are used to describe this choice; calling, election, predestination, and drawing are some of the more common terms.

I believe that the Biblical basis for divine election is sure.  In addition to "God chose us as the firstfruits to be saved" in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Ephesians 1:4 says, "he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him" (Emphasis added in all verses).  In John 6:44, Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him".  Romans 8:30 states, "and those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified".  It is important to realize that the doctrine of divine election does not deny the free will of man--rather, it states that without God's calling, no one would believe on Jesus Christ.  Charles Spurgeon wrote, "A man is not saved against his will, but he is made willing by the operation of the Holy Ghost.  A mighty grace which he does not wish to resist enters into the man, disarms him, makes a new creature of him, and he is saved."

Why do we thank God for his election?  Because, without it, we would not see life.  The Lord justifies only those whom he calls.  Why?  Because, without his regenerating work, we would not come to faith.  We are at heart opposed to God.  Our sinful nature, which permeates to the very deepest core of our heart, rebels against God at every point.  Without a divine implantation of a new nature (the "second birth" of John 3), we would reject Jesus Christ.  So, we thank God for his gracious decision to save sinners who, without His calling, would have been perfectly content to remain in their shame and defiance of God.

How I Am Applying the Second Prayer

This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be Your name,

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:9-10

The Lord's Prayer contains a tremendous request:  "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  In heaven, the angels always do God's will obediently and joyfully, honoring God through their obedience.  God's saints are called to the same obedience.

Actually, the prayer that we call "The Lord's Prayer" could also be called "The Disciples' Prayer."  Jesus is teaching his disciples how they should pray--what they should pray for.  So, it is our duty to pray that God's will be obeyed.  

This is a very similar prayer to the second prayer of 2 Thessalonians.  I generally pray an expanded version of the Lord's Prayer twice during my prayer times.  I use the requests of the Lord's Prayer to sort my requests into categories.  I do this simply to keep my brain and my prayers focused.  Prayer for sanctification fits very well into the category of God's will being done.

I found it easier to pray for sanctification than thank God for the work He has already done.  For one thing, my friends and I discuss our requests more often than our praises.  I was more equipped to pray this prayer than the first prayer.  

While I was praying this morning, I remembered a word picture about prayer that I read online once.  It described God as being like a sprinter, ready to run at the start line but waiting for the gunshot before he begins.  In the same way, God, who delights in blessing His children, waits for our prayer before he will bless us.  May we never fail to pray that God's will be done and that He sanctify us.

The Second Prayer of Second Thessalonians

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.    (2 Thess. 1:11-12, ESV)

The second prayer of 2 Thessalonians is related to the first prayer.  Just to review, the first prayer was thanksgiving for sanctification.  The second prayer is related: supplication for sanctification."

Paul and his companions (the we in verse 11) asked God to give power to the Thessalonians--power to be holy.  By doing this, they modeled for all Christians the attitude of a godly Christian.  Paul does not explicitly command the Thessalonians to pray this prayer, but I believe this prayer is a Christian duty.  As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."  If we are to be imitators of Paul, for one thing, we should pray the same prayers that he prayed--including this one.

Why are to we pray for sanctification?  Well, verse 12 says that this prayer glorifies God and those whom are sanctified by God's gracious giving of the Holy Spirit.  This prayer honors the great Sanctifier, who gives power to be holy.  It also, when the Lord answers this prayer, allows us to "become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire" (2 Peter 1:4).  This is an important prayer!  Let's not miss out on God's sanctifying power because of our laziness in prayer!

Let me conclude with an exhortation.  (Note: I am not a pastor nor am I an expert in biblical exegesis, but I believe this is a correct application of what God is saying in these verses.)

Let us, as often as we can, pray for ourselves and our brothers: that the Lord would give us His power to be holy and worthy of His calling.

Applying the First Prayer

In the last post, I said that Christians are commanded by 2 Thessalonians to thank God for their brothers' sanctification.  So on Wednesday, I attempted to do this for 15 minutes (though I think I'm going to aim for 5 minutes a day most of the time).  I have to be honest--it was the most humbling prayer time I have ever had.  Thirty seconds into my prayers, I realized that I couldn't see God working in my brothers' lives.  Not that He's not changing their hearts, but I have pridefully focused on myself.  In doing so, I have deprived myself of the joy of rejoicing with my brothers and sisters.

So, I have decided to make two adjustments to how I spend time with my friends.  First, I will focus on them.  This seems obvious, but I've found that this is harder than it sounds.  Second, I am going to flat-out ask my friends this question: "What has God been doing in your life?"

The Prayers of 2 Thessalonians (Part 1)

I have been studying 2 Thessalonians for a few days now, and the theme that has struck me the most is prayer.  Four times, Paul exhorts the Thessalonians (and all Christians) to specific prayers.  Twice he urges Christians to thanksgiving and twice to supplication.  In the next four posts, I will cover each of these prayers.

(1)  Thanksgiving for Sanctification

 

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. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your stead fastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.  (2 Thess. 1:3-4)

The first prayer of 2 Thessalonians is thanksgiving for sanctification.  We learn in verse 4 that the Thessalonian church is enduring persecutions and afflictions.  But in the midst of their trials (and perhaps because of them), their faith is growing and their love for one another is increasing.  Paul sees this not as a work of the Thessalonians, but of God .  He says, "We ought always to give thanks to God."  What I take from this is that when a Christian sees his brother growing in Christ, he should thank the Lord for His sanctifying work.  And this prayer is not meant to be prayed every so often, but always.  So, the first application I get from 2 Thessalonians is: 

Christians should, in their daily prayers, thank God for His work in their brothers' lives.