Read Together: 2 Thessalonians 1:3–12

This past weekend, our Spiritual Life speaker, Gary Rohrmayer, walked us through the prayers of Paul in Ephesians 1–3. On Sunday morning, we looked specifically at Paul’s prayer that the church would be empowered and strengthened. Paul records a prayer with a similar goal in 2 Thessalonians 1:3–12. In verses 3–10, Paul gives thanks for God’s work among the Thessalonian church and offers encouragement for them amid the persecution they’re experiencing.

Then, Paul shares the heart of his prayers for the church in verses 11–12. He prays that these believers would be strengthened in their faith. He asks God to help them live in a manner that is worthy of his calling on their lives. He prays that God would fulfill their desires to do good and empower every work that flows out of their faith. And so, we see that Paul pleads with God to empower the good desires and faith of this church.

The purpose of Paul’s request for the church is the glory of Jesus and the glorification of believers (their hope of future glory in Christ). The source of spiritual growth, Paul notes, is ultimately the grace of God working in us. Thus, Paul prays that God, according to his gracious will, would give the church strength to live out their faith so that Jesus might receive the glory and they might grow to be more like him.

As Pastor Gary challenged us on Sunday: do our prayers for one another reveal these priorities? Do we give thanks for the work God is doing in our hearts, increasing our faith and love? Are we praying earnestly that God, by his grace, would empower us to live out our faith for the glory of Jesus? The prayers of Paul re-center our own prayers and give us a bigger vision for God’s purposes for his church. We should return to these prayers again and again so that the heartbeat of Paul’s prayers might beat in our own.

Discussion Questions

1. What is Paul’s main prayer request for the Thessalonian church?
2. What is the purpose of Paul’s request? Why does this matter?
3. How do Paul’s prayers challenge our own prayer lives?

Ideas for Younger Kids

• Read 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 and then learn the following catechism question together (Q.97 from A Catechism for Boys and Girls). Use this as an opportunity to talk about what prayer is and what are some things we should pray for.
  
  • Q: What is prayer?
  • A: Prayer is talking with God.
• Read “Knock Knock, Who’s There? (Acts 12)” in The Biggest Story Bible Storybook (pages 472–75). Highlight the hope we have that God answers prayer in amazing ways, even when our faith is weak, and talk about how this encourages us to pray big prayers for each other for God’s glory.  

Memorization: “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thess 1:11–12)

Song: Listen to “A Christian’s Daily Prayer” by Sovereign Grace Music.

Pray Together

• Praise God for his love and grace, that he hears us and gives us strength to follow him.
• Confess to God where we have let our prayers drift into worldly priorities.
• Give thanks to God for the work he is doing in your family, in our church family, and in churches around the world.
• Pray that God would strengthen you, your family, and our church family, by his grace, to live out our faith so that he might be glorified in us and we might become more like Jesus.

Go Together

• Over the next week or two, commit to praying 2 Thessalonians 1:11­–12 each day for our church family. Choose a specific time (e.g., a mealtime or in the evening), and use a copy of the church directory, praying through a page or two of the directory each day. If you pray for the individuals and families on one page each day, this will take you two weeks. If you pray for those on two pages, it will take you just over one week. If you need a copy of the church directory, contact Pastor Nathan for a digital copy or pick up a paper copy at the back of the church.