We underestimate the power of prayer.
Just recently, I heard two joy-filled stories about prayer changing things. One was a young man praying for his friend who was far from God. Occasionally, this man would reach out to his friend simply to say, “I’ve been praying for you.”
The real prayer, never verbalized to the friend, was for God to break through in ways only God could and open the friend to faith. Over the weekend, the young man saw his friend at worship and the friend excitedly exclaimed, “I became a Christian!”
The other story was from a mother of adult children. Several months ago, we spoke and she expressed concern about the direction the lives of some of her children had taken. We cried and prayed together and came up with a plan for praying for her family. This week, she came to tell me about the changes that were taking place. One of the changes she was not expecting! She shared how God had been helping her surrender the unhealthy parts of her worry (her desire to fix and control) and replace them with the peace only God can give.
At the beginning of 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul asks the church to pray. Paul was a hard worker. He was not lacking in strategy or vision, and he was an excellent theologian and public speaker. Even though he had all those strengths and the perfect skillset for planting churches, Paul knew his efforts would be in vain unless the power of God was behind him.
Paul also prays for the Thessalonian church. Notice the focus of his prayer: “May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God …” (v. 5a).
No matter what prayer requests we may have or what is filling our prayer lists, it would be wise for our prayers to begin and end with a request for God to fill us more fully with his love. Notice from Paul: Understanding God’s love is not an end in and of itself. It’s always for the sake of more faithfully sharing that love with the world around us.
Reflection:
- How would you describe your relationship with prayer? Fan? Not a fan? Why or why not?
- Do you agree with the idea that we underestimate the power of prayer? Why or why not?
- When is the last time you prayed for God to lead your heart into a full understanding of God’s love? Why do you think Paul prays that for the Thessalonians? Why would it be important for you?