2 Thessalonians 1:11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.

I don’t know the Greek here, but where the NIV says, “count you worthy,” the Japanese says “make you worthy.” The difference may be subtle, but it seems real to me. However, in either case the focus is on God doing it, rather than our having to work it up, so to speak. The focus is kept on God in the second half as well, with the idea of God’s power fulfilling the good desires that we have. I like the way the Japanese puts it: “every desire that seeks good.” That can cover a lot of territory! We have a lot of desires, but many of them, though not necessarily bad, are essentially self-centered. This, however, is seeking objective good, as in justice, peace, love, harmony, and the like. Sometimes our desire for those things can be pretty intense, but we can’t accomplish them on our own. That doesn’t mean we are to be passive, though; the last part deals with that. As James emphasizes and the whole rest of the Bible makes clear, faith acts. If we say we believe something but it makes no difference in our lives, that isn’t faith. In writing to the Romans, Paul made a rather extreme statement: “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23) When we believe God and what He has said about us, we will live and act according to that faith. It is sad to see how many people proclaim their lack of faith by how they live! We need to pray like Paul in this area, for ourselves and for others.

I am repeatedly challenged by the prayers Paul records for those to whom he ministered. As a pastor myself, how well do I follow his example in my prayers? I tend to pray for people and situation when I think of them, but that is seldom very methodical. That said, I don’t think Paul was very different, because he prayed for so many people that if he tried to do so on a schedule, he could hardly have done anything else! However, I do need to be faithful to lift each person I think of up to God, letting Him show me their specific needs and being His instrument for their blessing. I do spend much of my time with an awareness of God, but it’s not yet 100%. When I am aware of Him, my thoughts themselves become prayers, since I know He’s listening, and that’s a very good thing. To this day I don’t really know why prayer works, because why would the Creator of the universe listen to me? However, I have experienced countless times of knowing I have made a difference, and I am never to discount that privilege.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I pray that my whole life would be a prayer, useful to You in accomplishing Your perfect will on earth, even though I can’t understand how that could be, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Praise God!