Earnestly Praying

2 Thessalonians 1-Part 5
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power.
2 Thess. 1:11

LET IT GLOW

Did you hear what Paul said? He told the Thessalonians that his missionary team is always praying for them. This is quite a common thing. We have touched on prayer several times in our study. Not only do I pray before getting out of bed, but I pray while on the treadmill, during Bible study, and other times. How serious am I about interceeding for someone? Am I earnestly praying for someone today? I have seen the Lord answer my prayers, so why don't I?
What is prayer?
"Through prayer we become co-laborers with God in bringing His will to pass," states Charles Swindoll in
Contagious Christianity.
"Prayer is as natural as breathing, as necessary as oxygen," said edith Schaeffer in her book Common Sense Christian Living.
"More things are wrought by prayer/Than this world dreams of," King Arthur said in Tennyson's Idylls of the King.

Here's what Swindoll had to say in this same study book:
Prayer is making deliberate contact with God in word or in thought. It's a voice of faith, whose whisper can be felt across the street or across the world. It is what pries us from our seats as spectators and places us as participants with God in matters of destiny. Through spending time in His presence, His thoughts gradually become our thoughts and His ways, our ways. Through prayer we become transformed.
A prayer expresses itself in many ways:

• as an act of praise,
• a confession of wrong,
• a request for help,
• a declaration of need,
• a statement of thanks,
• an intercession for others,
• drawing near to God with confidence (Heb. 4:16);
• asking, seeking, and knocking (Matt. 7:7-8);
• releasing anxiety (Phil. 4:6-7)
• gaining wisdom by asking for it (James 1:5);
• the discipline of mind that is always appropriate for our needs (Eph. 6:18);
• an invaluable discipline that we are commanded to do (pray without ceasing 1Thess. 5:17);
• a preoccupation with the Lord-to live with Christ in such a way that you can talk with Him or listen with Him at any moment.

Do my prayers refocus my perspective? Do I let it quiet my fears and calm my nerves? Does it transfer my burdens? Do my prayers uphold others in need?


LET IT GROW

Swindoll said that intercession occurs when we "labor earnestly" in prayer for others.
At the root of this Greek word agonizomai is the English transliteration "agony."

Webster's Dictionary defines agony as an extreme and prolonged mental or bodily pain; prolong is extended in time or length; earnestly is sincerely and seriously.

Oh my. Are my prayers for others long, agonizing prayers, in which I labor earnestly, sincerely, and seriously? To be honest, they aren't. I thought by praying daily for someone was enough. Like Paul, will  I always  pray for my spouse, children, family, friends, church members, co-workers, missionaries, government leaders in this way? Not just a "bless and protect" prayer, but an intercessory prayer with details?
Tomorrow we will see how Paul says we can live worthy of His call.


LET IT GO

Prasie the Lord, give thanks for what He does, confess my sins.

Let go of my agenda for the day and spend time in agonizing prayer for loved ones and the lost.

Believe that God will hear my prayers and will answer in His time and His way.