How to Pray For a Friend

How to Pray For a Friend

Put a positive note to your prayers

Pray that God will bless

every good purpose and act of faith

Your friends will find

more inspiration to do more good

  From Paul’s first letter to the second letter,

the Thessalonians continued to be full of faith and love

even in increasing persecution.

 

Paul reminds them of a coming day

of judgment for their persecutors.

In light of that day,

he prays for his friends.

Paul says, he continually prays for them.

I find myself questioning my prayers at times;

I have a regular time of prayer each morning

and a time in the morning and evening with Sandy,

plus talk to God throughout the day.

In all this praying,

I find myself being repetitive

and look for something new and fresh.

 Paul gives us some ideas…

He prayed that God would

count them worthy of their calling.

What an important prayer.

God’s calling for our lives

is to live with Him forever.

We are called and

predestined to eternal life.

It is no wonder Paul prays

that God will fulfill every good purpose of ours

and every act prompted by faith.

This extra ordinary day is coming –

a day of judgment.

Paul prays that

their energy will amount to something.

That’s a prayer we should have for each other.

May you bless every good act in our lives.

May it all result in praise to God

because it is by His grace we are called

and given the ability to do good.

Sometimes we pray that people will see

the wrong things they do and repent.

A prayer that says,

“God make them uncomfortable until they repent.”

But what if we prayed,

“God bless all the good they do.”

Wouldn’t we all be more inspired

if we could see more fruit from the good we do?

 Scripture Reading

2 Thessalonians 1:1-2:1 NIV

Paul, Silas and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians

in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

2 Grace and peace to you from

God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers,

 and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more,

and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about

your perseverance and faith

in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

5 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right,

and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God,

for which you are suffering.  God is just:

He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you

7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.

This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven

in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

8 He will punish those who do not know God

and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction

and shut out from the presence of the Lord

and from the majesty of his power

10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people

and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.

This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you,

that our God may count you worthy of his calling,

and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours

and every act prompted by your faith.

12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus

may be glorified in you, and you in him,

according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.