A Prayer About Gospel-Works
We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5
Heavenly Father, it’s a great time to be alive. For even as there is growing turmoil in the world, there is unruffled triumph in heaven-a loving certainty that the gospel will win the day… the nations… and the cosmos. How I praise you for the gospel of your grace-the gospel of the kingdom of redemption and restoration!
In fact, I don’t remember a time in my life when there has been a greater proliferation of gospel-speak-a more pronounced openness and earnestness to re-examine and re-think what the gospel actually is. Again, I praise you for the public discourse about the gospel, by believers and non-believers alike. This is a good thing, a very good thing.
But as I look at my own life, the body of believers with which I walk, and the community in which I live, I’m praying that the gospel will increasingly impact us the way it impacted the men and women of Thessalonica. What a profound image, “Not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.”
Father, dear Father, may gospel-words lead to gospel-works in my heart, I pray. In particular, may the faith you have given me in Jesus will work powerfully in my marriage and in my other relationships. It’s still easier for me to live in the world of words than the world of people. I’m still committed to loving one spouse well the rest of my life. I need the power of the gospel to do so to your glory.
May the love you have lavished on me in Jesus, and the love you have given me for Jesus, really work… doing the hard and heart work of further turning me from idols to serve you, the only true and loving God. In particular, I acknowledge and repent of the idols of control and self-protection. I need the deep conviction of the Holy Spirit to keep on turning from these lesser gods… for you alone are God.
Lastly, Father, may the great hope you have given me in Jesus, including the hope of the new heaven and new earth, deepen and lengthen my endurance… especially when I feel faint, cynical, weary, self-pity, fearful, fed-up, used-up, tempted and overwhelmed. Not simply with gospel-words, dear Father, but with gospel-works… so very Amen, I pray, in Jesus’ name.