Tuesday, June 27
A prayer
Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1 (I accidentally skipped chapter 1 yesterday. Kudos to Tim Johnson who set me straight! See yesterday’s blog for today’s reading, 2 Thessalonians 2.)
2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith, 12 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.
Observation
What a beautiful prayer! Paul tells the Thessalonians that he prays for them always and then tells them what he prays. Three things:
First, that God will make you worthy of His calling. (Cp. Ephesians 4:1) May God empower you to grow into the high calling He has for you. May God “help you live the kind of life He called you to live.” (NCV)
Second, that God would “fulfill by His power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith.” Those desires you have to do good, to serve God and people—may God turn those desires into action, into reality! We pray that “God will help you do the good things you want and perform the works that come from your faith.” (NCV)
Third, that “the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in Him.” May you live in such a way that Jesus is honored and that you are honored in Him.
Application
For whom can I pray this prayer today? I’m going to take some time right now and pray this for people I love, by name, just as Paul prayed it for the Thessalonian Christians.
Prayer: Lord, I love You. I pray this for those I love: that our God will make you worthy of his calling and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith, 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.
More: Song of Songs 1-2, 2 Timothy 1