“Never stop praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT)
”So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT)
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24 NKJV)
Just one more time…
…“We feel a personal responsibility to continually be thanking God for you, our spiritual family, every time we pray. And we have every reason to do so because your faith is growing marvelously beyond measure. The unselfish love each of you share for one another is increasing and overflowing! We point to you as an example of unwavering faith for all the churches of God. We boast about how you continue to demonstrate unflinching endurance through all the persecutions and painful trials you are experiencing. All of this proves that God’s judgment is always perfect and is intended to make you worthy of inheriting the kingdom of God, which is why you are going through these troubles.
It is right and just for God to trouble your troublers and give rest to the troubled, both to you and to us, at the unveiling of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his messengers of power within a flame of fire. He will bring perfect and full justice to those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to embrace the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, banished from the Lord’s presence and from the manifestation of his glorious power. This will happen on that day when he glorifies his holy ones, and they will be marveled at in all those who believed—including you, since in fact, you believed our message.
With this in mind, we constantly pray that our God will empower you to live worthy of all that he has invited you to experience. And we pray that by his power all the pleasures of goodness and all works inspired by faith would fill you completely. By doing this the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you will be glorified in him, by the marvelous grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 TPT)
More of Step 1…
…Step 1: Probe the prayer under the light of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s wrap up Step 1 by probing verse 12…
…“By doing this the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you will be glorified in him, by the marvelous grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul concludes his prayer by sharing the desired result. The purpose of this prayer is two-fold. First, it is to glorify the name of Jesus in these believers. Second it is to glorify these believers in the name of Jesus.
Have you ever noticed how we who spend much of our lives in group gatherings that we call “Church” have developed our own language. I like to call this “Christianese.” We use many words that leave visitors to our gatherings wandering around in the dark wondering what we are saying. We find one of these Christianese words used by Paul in this verse…”glorified.” What does it mean to say that “ the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you?” What does “glorified” mean anyway?
The original Greek word translated “glorified” is “endoxethe.” It means to be glorified, to honor, to render glorious. In a few translations the word “honor” is used rather than “glorified.” For example, the New Living Translation…
…“Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
I have been given the opportunity to live in such a way that when people watch me it brings honor to the name of Jesus. To be “glorified” means to be honored. I can actually draw people to Jesus or drive them away by the way I live. The reverse of this is also true. Jesus living in and through me brings honor to me.
Honor is being given high respect, esteem, and public reputation. It is to live with personal integrity, honesty, and according to moral principles. As I make the commitment, and do my best to follow through with appropriate actions, to imitate Jesus in every life situation, the Holy Spirit empowers me to live a “Christ-like” life. This brings honor to Jesus and he honors me. This cycle of honor is driven by grace.
By grace I am able to live in what I like to refer to as a “Cycle of Glory (honor).” My heavenly Father, by way of the Holy Spirit floods me with grace (unmerited favor which empowers me). This grace then freely gives me the ability to live as I was designed to live. This grace driven (empowered) lifestyle fills me with glory (honor) which becomes visible and vocal. As those around me come into contact with this glory (honor) through my words and actions it moves them to bring glory (honor) to Jesus’ Name. And the cycle begins.
What a powerful prayer we have been exposed to in…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 495: Praying With Paul – 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12: Part 6