This message was given at the Communion service at Oahe Manor on Thursday, November 7, 2013. The Bible verses used are 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12.
In our Sunday sermons in the United Methodist church, we recently did a sermon series on the power of prayer. We did not use these verses I just read, but maybe we should have. Look at what they say about prayer.
The Apostle Paul is writing to the church of the Thessalonians, and starts by saying, “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters.” That's one of the most important things there is about prayer: thanking God. There are all kinds of things we should thank God for, of course, but the one Paul mentions here is to thank God for other people in his life, the Christian brothers and sisters in this church.
We should thank God for the people in our lives, too. Those people are important to us. They're our friends, they're our relatives. Friends and relatives are people who help make us what we are. They're the people who help us when we're down, who are there for us when we need someone. They're the people who help make us what we are and who we are. We need to thank God for those people.
Now, maybe some of you feel like you don't really have much for family or friends any more, but you do. There are people in this room who are your friends. I know there are a lot of people on the staff here who consider you friends. I consider you my friends, too. It means a lot to me to be able to come out here and visit with you. It means a lot to Wanda, too, even though she was not able to be here today. We thank God for all of you. You make our lives a lot fuller and happier, just by being who you are.
But Paul goes on to say something he's specifically thanking God for about these people. He's thanking God that their faith is growing and their love for each other is increasing. And those are two more things we should thank God for: faith and love. We should thank God for our own faith and love, and we should thank God for the faith and love of other people, too. We should thank God for the times when we're able to show our faith and love by doing things for other people, and we should thank God for the times when other people are able to show their faith and love by doing things for us.
Everyone here has chances to show that faith and that love. I know some of you feel like you cannot do much, but everyone here can do something. You can be a friend to someone who needs a friend. You can give a kind word to someone who needs a kind word. You can listen to someone who needs to talk. There are all kinds of things each one of us can do if we just make up our minds to do them.
And everyone here has times when we need to give others the chance to show their faith and love by doing things for us. Sometimes that's hard. Sometimes we'd rather be on the giving end than on the receiving end. We remember the old say, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” But at the same time, if no one receives, no one will be able to give. There are times we need to be givers, but there are also times we need to be receivers. And when those times come, we need to be grateful, both to the ones who give to us and to God.
And then, in the last couple of verses, Paul says something else he is doing in his prayers. He is not just thanking God for these people, he's also praying for them.
We need to do that, too. We need to pray for the other people in our lives. But look at how Paul says he is praying for them. He is praying that God will make them worthy of God's calling. He is praying that God will make it so that every desire those people have is for goodness, and that all of their deeds will be prompted by faith. He is praying that the name of Jesus Christ will be glorified in those people.
Have you ever done that? I mean, I'm sure most of you, maybe all of you, have prayed for the people who are important to you. But have you ever prayed in that way? Have you ever prayed that God would make them worthy of being called by God? Have you ever prayed that God would make it so that they desire nothing but goodness, and that all their deeds would be prompted by faith? Have you ever prayed that the name of Jesus Christ will be glorified in the people you pray for?
Maybe you have. I don't know. But if not, try it. Pray for your relatives, pray for your friends, to desire nothing but goodness. Pray that all their deeds will be prompted by their faith in God. Pray that the name of Jesus Christ will be glorified in them.
And we should pray for that for ourselves, too. We should pray that we, too, desire nothing but goodness. We should pray that all our deeds be prompted by our faith in God. We should pray that the name of Jesus Christ would be glorified in us, too.
I don't know, but I think that a prayer like that would please God. I think God would be happy if we prayed that way. And I think that's the kind of prayer that God would answer. And if God did answer that prayer, think of what could happen. If we and everyone we know would desire nothing but goodness, would have our deeds prompted by faith, would live so that the name of Jesus Christ would be glorified in us, that could change the world.
So let's pray that way. Let's pray that way for ourselves and for the people we know. Let's pray that we desire nothing but goodness, that all our deeds be prompted by our faith in God, and that the name of Jesus Christ be glorified in all of us. Let's pray that prayer not just today, but every day. And let's see what happens. If we all do it, I'll bet we'll be surprised at the result.
No comments:
Post a Comment