Night and Day We Pray - 1 Thessalonians Series

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Are you a habitual person or a spontaneous person?  A habitual person has habits that he or she carries out every day. Those habits provide guidance all during the day. Habitual people know what to do, because they have established habits for doing the right thing at the right time.

As I share this podcast with you about one of the Apostle Paul’s good habits, I have to confess, in general, I am not a habitual person. But the habits I do have serve me very well. I go to church on Sundays. I read God’s word in the morning. I make lists of tasks that I need to accomplish. I consult those lists to make sure I fulfill my responsibilities. But compared to many people I know, I am not a habitual person. One time my wife said, “Dean, you never do the same thing the same way twice.”  There is more truth to that than I care to admit.

The apostle Paul had a habit that I want to develop more and more in my life. It’s a habit that I can recommend with confidence to you as a church planter. Paul prayed night and day. He tells us in 1 Thessalonians 3:10 about his experience in Athens while his dear friends in Thessalonica were suffering persecution.  He said, “Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.”  There are two ways to understand what Paul meant by these words. Perhaps he means that he prayed without ceasing, day and night, all the time as he went about his other business. Or perhaps it means he devoted special time to prayer at night and also in the morning. Either way, Paul was habitual in his prayer for the church members at Thessalonica.

What about you?  Do you pray habitually for the members of your church? Do you pray for them constantly during the day and in the evening as well? Or do you have special times set aside before you begin the activities of the day in which you pray for your church members? Both habits are good. Both habits develop proactive prayer in which we cover people in prayer even before we hear about specific challenges.

Reactive prayer is less desirable. In reactive prayer, we receive bad news and that prompts us to pray. Of course it is not wrong to pray when we hear bad news. But it is much better to pray proactively. How would you describe your prayer habits? How well are you covering your church members in prayer?  Paul prayed night and day for the Thessalonians. What new prayer habits is the Lord prompting you to integrate into your daily life?

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #PrayerHabits