Prayer Focus. 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12.
Dear Joint Heirs with Christ,
The apostle Paul now turns to something that is characteristic of his letters – prayer for the recipients. We can learn a lot about a person from the content of his prayer.
God’s Glory (vv. 11-12a). Paul is not asking that the Thessalonians would be free from persecution, as one would expect, but that they would be “worthy of his calling,” meaning that their lives would prove that God’s choice of them was right. Secondly, he prays that they would fulfill every desire to do good by faith, depending upon God’s power, and that the end result would be the name of the Lord Jesus would be glorified in them, but also that they would be affirmed by the Lord Jesus as they reflect his glory.
God’s Grace (v. 12b).In this statement, Paul introduces a facet of grace that is key to the Christian walk. We are saved by God’s grace – everyone agrees with that. But we are also enabled by God’s grace to live lives that are pleasing to him. Without the enabling of God through the Holy Spirit, the attempt to please God is futile. The sinful nature will win. But the grace of God applied in us through the Holy Spirit produces Christlikeness in us, what Paul elsewhere calls the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). We are saved by grace in order that we may glorify God, and we are enabled by the same grace to glorify him.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.