Paul's Prayer for the Thessalonians: A Model of Passionate Intercession

6 · Extended reading of 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:8, establishing the emotional and situational context for Paul's prayer by showing his repeated expressions of longing, his sending of Timothy, and his relief at receiving good news

So let's back up, rewind a little bit back to chapter 2, verse 17. "But since we were torn apart from you, brothers, for a short time, in person, not in heart, we endeavor the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face. Because we want to come to you, I, Paul, again and again, but Satan has hindered us. For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before the Lord Jesus at His coming? Is it not you?" For you are our glory and joy. Therefore, when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind in Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction just as it has come to pass and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain. But now that Timothy has come to us from you and has brought us the good news of your faith and love, reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you. For this reason, brothers, in all of our distress and affliction, we have been comforted about you through your faith. For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.

7 · Announces the sermon's two-part structure: first examining how Paul's prayer results from love and affection, then exploring how the prayer itself reveals his continuing passion

So this morning I want to look at Paul's prayer and see that— I believe it's a result of his love and his affection for the people. And then we'll look at Paul's prayer and how it reveals a continued passion for these people.

8 · Personal confession of the pastor's own struggle with prayer, establishing humility and vulnerability while inviting the congregation to pray for him

As we begin, I just want to confess this message is just as much for me as it is for you. I am well aware that many of you have a far richer prayer life than I do. As I spent the last few weeks studying this passage and preparing for this morning, I became more aware of my personal weakness in the area of prayer. And I'm hopeful, and I'm encouraged and hopeful that God will take what has been a weakness in my life and make it a strength. So please remember to pray for me.

9 · Announces the first major section of the sermon: Paul's longing to be with the Thessalonians as evidence of his love

So let's take a look. Paul's prayer, the result of love and affection for people. The first point here is that Paul longed to be with the Thessalonians.

10 · Provides historical context from Acts 17 showing Paul's pattern of evangelism and church planting followed by persecution and forced departure, establishing why Paul had limited time with the Thessalonians

We can read about the founding of the church in Thessalonica in Acts 17. Paul and Silas had been beaten badly in Philippi. They were imprisoned there, and that's where that amazing thing where the earth shook and the prison doors fell open. That amazing story. But right after that, they were sent out of Philippi. And they make their way to Thessalonica. Paul sets about the work of evangelism and church planting, which is typical of Paul when he gets to a new city. What's the first thing he'd do? He starts to preach the gospel. He starts to establish and plant a new church. And he does that as well here. But again, he faces opposition. And after just a few weeks, he's forced out of town. He flees and goes to Berea and again starts the work of evangelism. Evangelism, church planting, and again is forced out. And finally, he makes his way to Athens and he finds himself in a very challenging situation in Athens facing the enormous spiritual and intellectual hurdles of that great city at the time.

11 · Establishes that Paul's forced departure from Thessalonica disrupted his normal pattern of extended discipleship, creating legitimate pastoral concern for these new believers

So it's in this context of going into a city, preaching the gospel, seeing people respond to the gospel, beginning to establish a church, and immediately having to flee. More than a few short weeks, most likely, in these places. Thessalonica was one of those. So it was a church that he's beginning to look back upon. He's recently planted the church there. He wasn't able to spend any time helping them to establish training and discipling them and establishing them in the faith. And this was not Paul's normal preferred routine. He probably saw this as a source of frustration for him. His preferred process was to preach the gospel, see conversions, establish a church, then spend time training and discipling and establishing these new converts in their faith. So he most likely had some concern for these new Christians in Thessalonica as he had preached the gospel to them and then had to flee immediately.

12 · Examines the intense language Paul uses—"torn away," "could bear it no longer" (repeated)—to demonstrate the emotional depth of his desire to be with the Thessalonians and his fears for their spiritual wellbeing

So it's in this context that he writes, "But since we were torn away from you, brothers," for a short time in person, not in the heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face. Paul wanted to be back with them again. He says, "We were torn away. Therefore, when we could bear it no longer," here is a sense of, "I could bear it no longer," we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel." to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. When I could bear it no longer— again, that same word, when I could bear it no longer. Paul wanted to be with them. He wanted to spend time with them. He wanted to pray with them. He wanted to teach them. He wanted to disciple them. When he could bear it no longer, he says, I sent to learn, I sent Timothy to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and your labor would be in great vain.

13 · Establishes Paul's character as a deeply passionate man who maintained involvement in people's lives through prayer when physical presence was impossible, supporting this with cross-references showing his anxiety for all the churches and willingness to sacrifice for others

So here was a man that was so committed to these new Christians, especially the Christians in Thessalonica, that he's simply basically burning up inside to be back with them. He wanted to nurture them, to care for them, to help them, to feed them, and to establish them and ground them in their faith. And when Paul is unable to do that himself, he devotes himself to praying for them. And in these words preceding his prayer, we can see the deep concern that the Apostle Paul had for the Thessalonians. Paul was a passionate man. He was deeply involved in the lives of real people. And he maintained that involvement even when he couldn't be with them by praying for them. Look at his words to the Corinthians and to the Romans as well. 2 Corinthians 11 says, "And apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches." 'Who is weak and I am not weak? Who is made to fall and I'm not indignant?' And Romans 9:3 says, 'For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to flesh.' Paul had a deep connection with whoever he came in contact with. He felt for them. He had a burden for them. He wanted to be with them. Whether it was the Thessalonians or the Corinthians or the Ephesians or the Romans, it didn't matter. Paul wanted to be with people, real people. He wanted to be with them.

14 · Establishes the second major point: Paul's prayers were motivated by genuine concern for others' spiritual good rather than self-interest or personal fulfillment

Secondly, Paul's prayer arises out of a passionate affection that seeks the good of others. Paul wasn't writing to the Thessalonians seeking his own praise, his own gratitude, or acceptance by them. He wasn't looking for a sense of satisfaction or personal fulfillment by praying for others. Paul's prayers weren't meant to draw attention to him. Him, they were intended to seek to benefit the good of others. He wanted those who he prayed for to be encouraged and built up in the faith through his prayers.

15 · Exposes the common tendency to use prayer as performance—using fancy language, praying at length, or communicating ideas to listeners rather than genuinely seeking God's work in others

Sadly, that's not always the case when we pray. Yes, we want to pray for others, to ask God to do things for them, but it's, you know, too uncommon for our prayers to drift into attention, to essentially try to draw attention to ourselves. We want to show others how good we can pray. We use fancy words that we wouldn't otherwise use. In conversation. We go on and on, often repeating ourselves to, you know, just to show how good I can pray. Look at my fancy words. Look how long I can go. And we drift away from praying for others to trying to draw attention to ourselves. We often use our prayers as an opportunity to pray, as an opportunity to communicate an idea or a concept or belief to others rather than simply talking to them about it at some other point in time. These prayers become more about us than they do about the people we're praying for.

16 · Addresses the opposite problem—intimidation by others' eloquence leading to silence—and points to Paul's brief, focused prayers as an encouraging model

The opposite, there's an opposite of this that can be true as well. We can often be intimidated by others who would be around us. We don't think that I can pray with those fancy words or I can't pray as long as they can. And I become intimidated and I feel inadequate and I then close my mouth and don't ever actually pray for anyone. We become intimidated into silence. If this is you, look at Paul's prayers. Paul was not a man of many words. His prayers were typically a few sentences long, maybe a paragraph at the most. But he was very sharp and to the point. He knew what he wanted to pray and he prayed it and he was done with it. So if you can't go on for 5 minutes, praying in one prayer, take encouragement for Paul. He prayed it would be, you know, a sentence or two often in Paul's prayers.

17 · Summarizes the section with a clear propositional statement about prayer's proper purpose and form

Again, the purpose of prayer is not to draw attention to ourselves. It's to seek the good of others. It doesn't have to be a long prayer to do that.

18 · Extends the principle from prayer to all ministry, illustrating how any position—from pastor to toilet cleaner—can become self-focused rather than genuinely serving others

The same tendency can be true when it comes to ministry. There are pastors who declare that their passion for preaching so loudly and so vehemently that it becomes unclear whether they're doing that, whether they're preaching for their own benefit and the power that they've been captured by, or is there a true desire even left in them anymore to preach and minister to those who might be listening to their words? So maybe you're a musician or a vocalist or a care group leader or a ministry team leader, it doesn't really matter. You could be a pastor. There's very real temptation for anyone in that power and in a position of power and authority to easily slip into the mindset that our position makes us important. How could the church possibly survive without me? Our ministry becomes all about us. Look what I do. Look at my position and my responsibilities. It's about me and my gifts and my talents. Well, no, it isn't about you. If you're a pastor who's up here on Sunday mornings on a frequent on a weekly basis or you're just one who comes in once a week and cleans the toilet, your ministry isn't about you at all. It's about serving others. It's about caring for them, praying for them, putting their needs first and dying to self. We lead and we serve for the benefit of others, not for ourselves.

19 · Personal story from a previous church about seminary students who wanted to serve in teaching roles but resisted humble, behind-the-scenes service, revealing how ministry aspirations can be self-focused

At our previous church out in California, we were at a church out there in Pasadena. Pam and I lived there for about 14 years. And there was a very popular seminary close by. And it wasn't uncommon for students who would come to the seminary to study would eventually— many of them eventually made their way to the church. It was close by. It was a well-known church. And over the course of time, many of these students would come and ask, "Can I serve somewhere in the church?" And, you know, that's a great— what pastor, what administrator doesn't love to hear those kinds of words? "I want to serve in the church." Absolutely, there is never a— there's a never-ending supply of needs to be met at a church. So we'd say, "Absolutely, you know, we need help on the setup team. We need help with the custodial teams. We need help in children's ministry." And they would send me— I was in charge of the setup teams back then— and they would send these names to me, and I would call them up and say, "Hey, I heard you want to serve. I'd love to put you in on one of the setup teams. Come down here at 7 o'clock, help us to set up." set up chairs, set the worship music up, and all that stuff, I would love to have you. And then it only takes about a half hour afterwards to put it all away. We are always looking for help there. But they'd also come back and they'd answer something like this, "Well, you know, I don't really feel called to the setup team. It's not really what I had in mind. I was thinking more like leading a Bible study." I like to teach. I'm at seminary, you know. And when I have taught, people have told me how great a job I do of that and how blessed they are, how encouraged they are. I feel called to be a Bible teacher. Don't you have any openings in a Bible study, or maybe I could start a new one for you?

20 · Theological reflection on the illustration: humble, behind-the-scenes service reveals genuine servant-heartedness and is often a prerequisite for visible ministry roles

We certainly do want to place individuals in positions that they are gifted in and have the skills for. But it's rare that someone would be placed immediately into a teaching position at a church, at least in my experience. We need time to get to know them, to know what their beliefs are, what their doctrines are. Are they gifted as a teacher? Do they want to serve? And are they willing to serve in any position? There's a heart attitude behind serving that we wanted to see and to observe. So we'd ask them, you know, "Are you willing to serve in any capacity?" Once in a while the answer was yes. Most often it was no. Even if they were just to come and set up chairs, you can observe a lot about a person, about their heart, what motivates them to serve, if they're willing to come and set up chairs or clean toilets. It's quite easy to discern a person's heart and their attitudes towards service when you ask them to do something like that. It's quiet behind the scenes, a non-visible position.