Tuesday 14 March, 2017

3 Now I want to talk about some other matters. Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread quickly. Pray that others will honor it just as you did. 2 And pray that we will be saved from sinful and evil people. Not everyone is a believer. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will strengthen you. He will guard you from the evil one. 4 We trust in the Lord. So we are sure that you are doing the things we tell you to do. And we are sure that you will keep on doing them. 5 May the Lord fill your hearts with God’s love. May Christ give you the strength to go on.

I have never quite seen Paul’s passion for the Good News of Jesus like this before. He asks for prayer that the message – the Good News – may spread rapidly and be honoured. Paul’s focus is far beyond himself; he is captured by the importance, the imperative, the crucial cause of the Good News. He is compelled to see the Good News spread. His prayer for the Thessalonians at the end of this short passage perhaps gives us an indication of how Paul himself endured so much and yet kept this passion alive and active – having his heart directed into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

So often I recognise that my prayers, my thoughts, and my purposes are kept in the sphere of me – my needs, my desires, my problems, my ambitions. But a life of true purpose and adventure (and challenge) is a life lived far beyond myself. Paul’s example here, again, calls me to throw my heart into the cause that has to shake and shape the world – the spread of the message of truth, hope, and salvation found in Jesus Christ.

Lord, direct my heart into your love and perseverance, such that with all the strength you give, I can live for the greatest call and cause in human history. Amen.

Written by Ps. Rob Waugh