Praying for Other Christians

Introduction

Five college students once visited Charles Spurgeon’s church in London to hear him preach. As they waited for the doors of the chapel to open, they were greeted by a man who offered to show them around. “Would you like to see the heating plant of this church?” Despite the day’s heat, they couldn’t think of a polite way to refuse his invitation and followed him down the stairs. Quietly their guide opened the door and whispered, “This is our heating plant.” The students looked inside and saw about 700 people praying together for the service which would soon begin. After a moment, the man softly closed the door and introduced himself. He was Charles Spurgeon. It is easy to look at men and women who have had a great impact on the world and assume that they had some special power. While God often gifts them richly, it is always prayer that fuels a true ministry whether it is large or small. In 1 Thessalonians 1:1-4 we get to hear the apostle Paul tell a group of believers what he prays for them. Study this passage and learn how to pray for other believers.

Observation

Pray

Ask the God, who created the universe and everything in it and yet stopped to write His Word to you, to make it plain and clear and to give you faith to trust and obey it.

Read Focus Verses

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:1-4 and notice its warmth and focus.

Context

To get a bigger perspective of this passage, read the rest of this short chapter, verse 5-10, to get a feel for its themes and tone.

Authors

Who are the human authors of this book of the Bible?

Recipients

Who were the first recipients of this letter?

Position

In whom do these believers have their position as Christians according to verse 1?

A Benediction

What do Paul and his co-authors wish for these Christians in verse 1?

Whose?

Whose Father is God (notice the pronoun in the second mention of Him in verse 1)?

Two Things

What two things are Paul and his companions doing for these believers according to verse 2?

Keywords – Thanks, Prayer

Marking these two words – thanks and prayer will help you remember what these verses are about.

Thanking and Praying

Mark the words thanks and prayer in today’s passage.

Remembering

What 3 things do Paul, Silas, and Timothy remember about these believers?

In Whom?

In whom is their hope grounded?

Before Whom?

Who is witness of their faith, love, and hope in their Lord Jesus Christ?

Knowing

What do Paul and his co-authors know about these Christians according to verse 4?

Interpretation

First Encounter

Read about Paul and Silas’ first encounter with the believers at Thessalonica in Acts 17:1-10.

Meet Timothy

After Paul and Silas had been forced out of the city, they went to Berea and then to Athens. While in Athens, they were concerned for the young believers they had left behind in Thessalonica. They could not return (2:18) but sent Timothy to see how the believers were doing. Read about his visit and report in 1 Thessalonians 3:1-8.

Report

What was Timothy able to report about the church in Thessalonica?

Response

Rejoicing because of this good report, Paul, with Silas and Timothy, writes this letter to the church there. This video provides a helpful summary of the book.

About the Authors

The story of Paul, Silas, and Timothy is told in the book of Acts and supplemented by the epistles of Paul. When Paul was ready to leave on his second missionary journey, he chose Silas, whom he had met in Jerusalem, as his travelling companion. Along their journey they met a young man, Timothy. Paul took Timothy under his wing and the three of them travelled extensively together and apart to share the gospel and encourage churches. In 2 Corinthians 1:9 we see that the three of them also brought the gospel to the believers in Corinth.

Thessalonica

You can read a little more about ancient Thessalonica at this link.

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Regional Map

Thessalonica was and continues to be (as Thessaloniki) an important Greek city. You can see it on a map showing it in relation to some other cities in Paul’s day.

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God the Father

Why is God’s name, God the Father, used three times in this short passage? What is its significance?

Lord Jesus Christ

Why is the title, Lord Jesus Christ, used each of the three times the Savior is mentioned in these verses? What is its significance.

Grace and Peace

Paul asks God to give these believers grace and peace in verse 1. This is a common benediction in his epistles. Read Romans 5:1-2 to see how grace and peace are related.

Relation

How are grace and peace related?

Giving Thanks

If you look at Paul’s other letters you will see that he is always giving thanks for the believers in the various churches he knew or knew about. Why did he give thanks for other believers so much?

Prayer

The other thing Paul was always doing for these groups of believers was praying for them. If you were to turn Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonian church into a prayer list for your church, how would you put it in your own words?

Work of Faith

Paul refers to a Christian’s work as a work of faith. Read 1 Corinthians 15:58 to understand why.

Confidence

Galatians 6:9 further expands on the faith aspect of Christian work.

By Faith

What makes Christian work a work of faith? What do Christians have faith in or about that motivates them to work?

True Love

1 John 3:18 defines true love as an active, acting love.

Labor of Love

Hebrews 6:10-11 brings this together when it also speaks of a labor of love and gives examples of what that is going to look like. Notice that it also speaks of the faith aspect of Christian work.

Loving God

For example, 1 John 5:3 shows us what loving God looks like.

In Your Words

In your own words, why is a Christian’s work a labor of love?

Patient Hope

All through Scripture, hope and patience are linked. Romans 8:24-25 explains why they are related.

Link

Why are patience and hope so related to each other?

Anchor

Why is a Christian’s hope in Jesus Christ?

Faith, Hope, Love

1 Corinthians 13:13 speaks of faith, hope, and love together like 1 Thessalonians 1:3 does.

Love

Why is love the basis for faith and hope?

Beloved and Chosen

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 tells us by whom Christians are beloved and chosen.

Chosen To

To what has God called His people according to these verses?

When?

Ephesians 1:3-6 tells us when God chose His people.

Before Creation

When did God choose His people?

Listen

If you have an extra minute, listen through the book of 1 Thessalonians and notice how the themes the introduction has begun with are expanded throughout the book – the tenderness, the work of faith and love, the hope in Jesus Christ, the love of God.

Application

Hope in the Lord

You’ve seen in this study that God has given us hope through Jesus Christ who died for your sin and rose again to save you. Have you trusted in His death on your behalf and given your life to Him as Lord? If not, will you do that today? If so, what evidence of that is there in your life like there was in these believers’ lives – working in faith, laboring in love, and patiently hoping for Jesus’ return and reward?

Prayer

How is Paul’s prayer list going to impact the way you pray for your church?

Wrapup

Closing

We hope this study has helped you understand how to pray effectively for other Christians.

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