“For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God, night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith?” (1 Thessalonians 3:9-10).
Just as Paul the Apostle worked night and day on behalf of the Thessalonians, this portion of Scripture tells us that he prayed night and day for them as well. That commitment to prayer offers an opportunity to examine this important subject in greater detail.
The most basic definition of prayer is communication with God. It involves those words or thoughts that are specifically designed to interact with our Creator. Paul expanded on this idea in the New Testament epistle of 1 Timothy…
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone– for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior…” (1 Timothy 2:1-3 NIV).
Paul essentially began this passage by saying, “Let’s start with first things first” (i.e. “first of all”). This reminds us that communication with God in prayer is a primary responsibility. He then went on to identify some different types of communication with God. The first was requests, a word that refers to an appeal, petition, or plea that generally arises from a specific need.
Next is prayers. This is a more general term that describes our daily fellowship and communication with God. This is followed by intercession, a reference to the act of approaching God on behalf of someone else. We then have thanksgiving, or the expression of gratitude and appreciation to God for the blessings He has bestowed upon us.
Finally, Paul ended this section with an encouragement to pray for everyone and our political leaders in particular. We should also notice that we are directed to pray on behalf of “all those in authority,” the good and bad alike. This type of prayer not only pleases God but also benefits us as well (“…that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”).
As one commentator reminds us…
“Prayer has real results. God has ordained His relationship to the world in such a way that He will respond to our prayers. Even Paul needed and sought the prayers of others, and he anticipated that God would act on his behalf in answer to the saints’ prayers (Rom. 15:30–32; Eph. 6:19, 20; Phil. 1:19, 20).” (1)
(1) Sproul, R. C. (Ed.). (2015). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (p. 2051). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.