2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.

It’s been a long time since someone pointed out to me that this verse is a direct answer to a prayer Paul recorded in his first letter to these people. In 1 Thessalonians 3:12 he said, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.” Our prayers have impact! We may not see answers as clearly as this, but we can be sure that honest prayer never hurts. As James said, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16) That’s all the more reason to strive to be righteous! As the line in Have Thine Own Way says, “power with men and power with Thee.” If you want real power, be righteous before God, fully connected and obedient to Him. Our goal should be, as the last line of that hymn says, “Christ only, always, living in me.” That’s a high goal indeed, and not one we could ever hope to achieve in our own strength, but it is what God desires for us and of us. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29) (Incidentally, I understand the reason for it, but it bothers me that the NIV frequently inserts “and sisters” in passages that, on the face of the text, seem to be strictly masculine. That was simply the verbal convention of the time, as in “mankind.” I don’t like adding to the text.) The point is that God is indeed omnipotent, and the more we conform to the image of His Son, the more His power will manifest through us. However, we must remember that, as He told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) So, the lesson is, stay close to God, and what He prays through you will come to pass!

I couldn’t begin to count how many times the Lord has answered prayer in my life, both things I have prayed and things others have prayed. Several years ago one of our daughters contacted us with a prayer request, saying, “When you guys pray, things happen.” At the same time, I have prayed many things that didn’t seem to have any immediate impact. I don’t worry about those, however, because I’ve also seen many times when prayers were answered long after they were expressed. It’s like I said to the family of the man I baptized in the hospital last month: his healing was provided, but we didn’t know if it would be manifested on this earth or in heaven. As it turned out, it was in heaven, but he’s delighting in it no less. This morning we had a little bit of rain, and I was rejoicing, because we have been in a drought. I had already rejoiced that one of the songs requested for today was, There Shall be Showers of Blessing! I certainly can’t dictate to God, but when Jesus told us so clearly to ask, seek, and knock, (Matthew 7:7-8) how can I fail to do so?

Father, thank You for the incredible privilege of prayer, and for the assurance that You are listening. Help me also listen to You, just as You once had to tell me to shut up so that I would do so! May I fellowship with You by Your Spirit, not just occasionally but continuously, as a good warmup for heaven, just as You told us to pray, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!