Hello
Here’s today’s Holy Nougat
“So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11 NLT
On the surface, this is just an extended salutation. And if it were, it is nice. But the Thessalonians were ministering during a crisis, and these words are part of the encouragement to them. So let’s see what is noteworthy about this for us in our time-
1. Persons in crisis are to be prayed for. Some churches have a prayer hotline, some have regular meetings, some call church members to special prayer during crises.
2. The prayers are specific – while the A, B, C & A-C-T-S of prayer or the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer have merit, sometimes our prayer needs to be targeted for a specific goal. Here, there were two primary focii
a – that the saints’ faith would hold strong (for God’s glory & especially the onlookers)
b – for the plans to be fulfilled according to God’s inspiration. (So many of us want to give up at the first sign of trouble. Praying for our creative “sticktoitivity” during a crisis is very helpful).
3. The prayer invites God’s powerful intervention and anointing; not to transform the situation, but to bolster the believers through God’s power.
May we be moved to do likewise, or be recipients of the same, in times of crisis.
God bless you and good morning
In Christ’s love and grace
