This week I want to draw from Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians 3, to perhaps motivate us to be praying this year. In particular, I hope that this will motivate you to pray for your church – the people in your own faith circle.
In this chapter, Paul is recounting the great news that Timothy had brought him concerning the people in this church in Thessalonica, and how well they are doing in their faith. Paul writes this in verse 9: "How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?"
The Joy of Praying for Others
I wonder if we might begin to pray something like this for our own church families, our own Christian brothers and sisters this year. Paul is overwhelmed with love for them, and with joy as he sees them following Jesus. So he thanks God for these people, and says that he feels he can't thank God enough for them.
Wouldn't it be something, if you and I prayed this way for our Christian family this year? Thanking God profusely for them, for who they are to us, and for the progress they have made in their spiritual lives? Of course, this is a good thing to pray for your own family too, if you can.
The point is, do your prayers ring out with joy, because they are filled with others? So often we pray for ourselves only. We must pray for ourselves, absolutely, but are our prayers empty of joy because we rarely if ever thank God profusely for what He is doing in the lives of others?
Filling Your Prayers with Community
I encourage you to fill your prayers with others this year. Pray for yourself, yes of course. But come to God in joy when somebody in your life gets good news. Come to God in joy when you see a fellow Christian growing in faith. Come to God in joy when you have a conversation with a Christian that uplifts you. Come to God in joy after church, thanking Him for what He did in that time together.
Put it this way – could you write a letter to your church and say "how can I thank God enough for all the joy I have because of you?"
May our prayers ring out with joy for others like Paul's did, this year.
Paul closes with a call to treat ministers fairly, and with a reminder of who the church is really about. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Good Shepherd, today.