A Prayer for Holiness. 1st Thessalonians 3:10 “These are not mine, Oh Gracious Father, they all belong to You. But in my heart, each sister and brother has claimed a place that I cannot shake or dismiss as just another fellow human being. I find joy or sorrow in each step they take and each decision they make, and I wonder what motivated them to do what they did. From deep within my soul, there is a genuine care for their spiritual well-being, and they will be willing in their lives to share the truths of God they have personally received with others who are in need of a Savior.”
Since that time, they have come to believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord and have committed to following Thy Word to the place where they gather with others where Thou hast placed Thy name. It is the same place I came to many years ago because I knew that was where the Lord met His people when they gathered unto Him. Now, I look forward to the day when we all shall see the One who called us, and with Him, we will share in His life, His kingdom, and His glory. Then we will better understand the fullness of the story of redeeming grace and all the blessings that come with being “one of Christ’s,” a Christian!
“My Prayer for You.” 1st Thessalonians 3:11-13 It is not unusual to see that, when reading Paul's letters, he often stopped addressing them and wrote a prayer to God for them. This shows the heart of a spiritual father who understands his limitations and recognizes God's love, grace, and power. The last verses of this chapter are one of his written prayers for the Thessalonians and himself.
There are things we respectfully ask God for because they are in our hearts and relate to us when we make decisions. We need to remember that our heavenly Father is the sovereign God who is all-knowing about us and the events ahead. God may hinder or stop what we want to do because that is His right.
However, Satan, our adversary, does not want God's servants to be effective in their service. To hinder us from moving forward, he will use any means possible to keep us from going where we should go and doing what we should do. Our role in overcoming this is to “resist the devil,” “draw near to God,” and pray for divine guidance and power to overcome any obstacles to doing God's will.
In the practice of prayer, we pray to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are united, equal, yet distinct in their personalities and roles. The united Godhead guides our actions and answers our prayers. The Lord broadens our love for His people and those who are not saved. Christian love is the kind of love that values each person and desires their good.
Love (agape) is not just a feeling or an emotional response to people or what happens to them. It is not just expressed in the words, “I love you,” but is the true value we assign to a person. This can be demonstrated to those we know (“one another”) and are connected with, as well as the entire “household of faith.” But it also extends further to include “all men.” Even those who oppose us because of who we represent need to be valued. Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke to the Father of those who crucified Him, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The same attitude was shown by those who carried the Gospel to Thessalonica and by believers toward Timothy when he went back to see how they were doing.
Love is mentioned only once in this prayer but remains the central focus. Its source is in “The Lord.” He is working on me to strengthen and increase the love that already exists for the Lord’s people. But beyond that, He is causing it to grow toward “all men.” There is a growing love for the unsaved people all around me. The arrow of divine love is becoming larger and longer as it is directed toward me. Then, the arrow of my love is also growing larger and longer as it focuses on the people of God on one side and the world around me on the other.
Love has a clear goal: holiness in God's people. It is not just an attitude; through the love believers show toward each other, they are strengthened in their “most holy faith.” Christian character is also built up when love is expressed as support, teaching truth, and carrying each other's burdens during stressful times. Love encourages our fellow believers to live holy lives despite opposition.
In turn, Paul, Silas, and Timothy directed and grew in love toward the Thessalonian believers. With such a development of holy love on every side, what great blessings will reach out in all directions to many people! One of the most significant results of this increase in love from above reflects on Him, as He is the Lord who made that love increase in me initially. “May the love of Jesus fill me, as the waters fill the sea; Him exalting, self-abasing, this is victory.”
Paul wanted to see them all again, but only if the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ directed him to do so. There is much we wish to do and many places where we want to share in the work, but even in God's work, we can operate in the energy of the flesh. The key to any effective work is acting in God's will. We might have our own desires to help others and be where God is doing great things, but our responsibility is to be where He wants us and to do what He asks. Our joy, our prayers, and our celebration of the Gospel’s victories through others may be our main involvement in some new effort, but that may be enough.
We find our part in the work of others when we pray for them, asking the Lord to increase their love and devotion for those they see saved, just as we do for them. Our concern for others and their spiritual growth builds our hearts. Christian character rooted in the Lord clearly defends us against any accusations others may bring. Usually, the fewer words we speak in our own defense, the better. Our character, once established, speaks much louder than words.
The exercise of Christians' love for each other is a means God uses to develop the likeness of Christ in those who know and love Him. Love helps us focus our interests on the things that matter in the lives of our brothers and sisters. Love for those who “despitefully use you” can vindicate any false charges they may seek to accuse you of. Love will develop a likeness to Christ in ways that cannot be denied or overlooked.
Holiness in God's sight is a righteous holiness that fulfills His justice. “Before God, even our Father,” holiness defines us as members of His family who have been made “partakers of the divine nature.” This holiness will be displayed in its brilliance when our Lord returns, and those who have been set apart for Him will all appear with Him.
All aspects of living for God: words, actions, sufferings, joy, and everything involved, will be revealed in their true light at the Lord's coming. The challenge is to live a pure life in light of the Lord's return, when holiness will be understood for what it truly is. Our hearts' motives will be clearly shown before God, the Judge of all, who has entrusted all judgment to the Son. When Jesus Christ establishes His kingdom at His return, with all the saints present, the Thessalonian believers will be there; Paul, Silas, Timothy, and we will be there too. The family of God will share in the joy of the King as He rules in peace and righteousness, where justice and grace go hand in hand.
As children of “God, even our Father”, we will stand as His sons and daughters before Him. The purity that is to accompany the work of God at this present time will be absolute on that day. There will be Purity in His presence when we see the Person of Jesus at His coming, and look at all those we had a part in seeing saved and growing in the Lord as the Prize we will enjoy at His coming. It is with this in mind that we also Petition the Father. We would like to be able to go and see those who are our children in the faith. We would Pray that they, too, will be knit together in love and that they can stand in blameless sanctification before the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming. These features mark those who care for the sheep and lambs the Chief Shepherd has entrusted to us for their keeping.