Prayer for the Church
Open Your Bible
1 Thessalonians 3:6-13, Psalm 119:1, 2 Timothy 1:1-12, Hebrews 10:23-25
BY Jen Yokel
Recently, I had a chance to catch up over the phone with a friend I’ve known for over 15 years. We hadn’t spoken in a while, but once the conversation got flowing, we were mutually delighted to discover the ways we’d seen God’s constant work in us and our families over the years. Two hours later, I hung up the phone feeling the joy of being known and the encouragement to keep pressing on.
To me, this feels like the kind of conversation Paul is having with the church at Thessalonica. Since he had been forced to abruptly leave them, Paul, long separated from this beloved Greek church, was worried about how they were faring under persecution. But in this section of his letter, you can feel his relief to hear they aren’t just surviving, but thriving. They’ve already become well known for their steadfast commitment to the faith and their powerful love for each other.
So, what does a spiritual father say to people who are doing well? In other letters, you may see Paul correcting sin or offering education, but in this one, we mostly find delight, encouragement, and a heartfelt blessing to keep going. He celebrates the good they’ve been doing, then pushes them to take that goodness further, praying they increase and overflow with love and that God will “make [their] hearts blameless in holiness” (1Thessalonians 3:13).
“Blameless” isn’t a word we use too often these days, and if you’re prone to thinking of humans as chronically imperfect, it can sound like a tall order for anyone. In the biblical Greek language, “blameless” means a serious calling to be free of fault, to be perfect, to be so far above reproach no one can say anything bad about you. Paul knows they’ve done well, so now he is calling them to go further as they deepen their love for God and each other, to keep growing and representing Christ in their community, no matter the challenges, persecution, and turmoil they face.
So, how do you strive for perfection when the whole world seems to come against you, when life continues to wear you down? Blamelessness, it seems, doesn’t happen through individualistic striving. It calls for living in a tension between actively walking by God’s instruction (Psalm 119:1) and “relying on the power of God” (2Timothy 1:8). Fortunately, we don’t do this alone. This happens in community, too, “as we consider one another in order to provoke love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). It happens when we listen to each other’s stories for encouragement and support, and it happens when we study God’s faithfulness to the Church across generations and cultures. May that give us all a reason for hope, gratitude, and encouragement.
51 thoughts on "Prayer for the Church"
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Praying for all of you, dear sisters. Thank you for sharing that quote from Jane Eyre, ERB! Also love that book and your thoughts.
EMILY—Praying for you, sister. My parents were both in the military and deployed multiple times. I know the military member’s service affects the whole family. Praying for grace and strength and community support for you both in this season. ❤️❤️❤️ -
Hi Emily, my husband deployed for the first time in our marriage last year for a year. I don’t know if you have military community nearby, but we didn’t, and that made it a bit harder. I will definitely be praying for you and your husband and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need support or advice
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Natasha, so wonderful to hear you’re with us from all the way in Hong Kong. I pray that God will keep you strong and encouraged!
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Thank you SRT family, for being part of the community that supports and encourages me in my walk with the Lord. I don’t post regularly, but I read (and learn from) every comment and pray for all of you. I actually do the devotion a day late because I live in Hong Kong and the day’s devotion is released by midday my time. So I do the previous day’s devotion first thing in the morning. I actually like it that way, because I get to read al your comments. I hope you all have a great day!
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Thank you! The old hymns are so meaningful
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This is a great reminder to keep growing in our faith in God and love for each other. As Christians, we never stop growing.
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In 2 Timothy 1:8 , Paul mentions afflictions, and he calls his audience (believers) to be partakers of these afflictions. It shows church people will definitely experience hardships, fiery trials, conflicts, division at some point, which God allows for the refining process of his beloved, and I love the last part of it, Paul gives a hint how to survive these afflictions, “according to the power of God”, not according to our human strength, intellectuals, skills to hold up the weight of these afflictions, BUT GOD’S ( I grew to love these two wonderful words thanks to our dearly beloved Tina). “According to the power of God”, it is such a vague phrase to point to as solution, but what can I say? God keeps us on our toes, we need to step out to danger zones to see how He delivers his promises. Every day His mercies are new, every time a solution is different, therefore, my awe and gratitude toward Him and His extreme intelligence is also afresh each day to how He brings me through each fiery trials, a God full of grace. None is like Him.
Dear ERB, I love the quote you point out from Jane Eyre. It is one of my favourite books as well, such a tender love story but yet bearing true sacrifice. Our Jesus laid down his life for the bride (the church) that He loves so much. Truly our God sees us and finds us worthy of the cost of His death. I will keep you in prayers Emily. May God give you wisdom and a strong desire in your heart to seek Him deeper and deeper each day, may He reveal himself to you through your daily circumstance. Grace is the evidence of His presence Emily. He loves you so much.
Churchmouse, very happy to see you back. You were missed!
Praying for other prayer requests posted in the comments. Thank you dear sisters for sharing your struggles so we together can pray with you. The burden is always lightened when shared. Thank you for sharing your burden. May God strengthen each of you through the hardships you are facing. Hold strong to the faith, for He who promised is faithful. God is able to keep us!
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A prayer for each of you all today that are in need. I truly love this community and how it helps my own faith walk with the Lord! Lauren Daigle has a new beautiful song out “Hold on to Me” which is a great prayer song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1EwKwayzLM Look it up, and believe He has you through all, the little and the big!
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