Paul’s prayer models how pastors should pray for congregations

By Lauren Crane

To have a healthy, God-proclaiming church, Mark Dever said it is important for the leadership to pray for its people as the Apostle Paul did.

Dever, who is the author of Nine Marks of a Healthy Church and the pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., spoke especially to those who currently pastor congregations, no matter the size. His fear, he said, is that 30-40 years from now, the church will see a majority of those who are just entering the ministry no longer active in it.

Speaking from the text of 1 Thessalonians 3:10-13, Dever said it is important to study the words of Paul and see what he desired for the early church in Thessalonica. He outlines three prayers Paul had for the early church and uses them as an example of how modern church leaders ought to encourage and pray for their own congregations.

“God, in his grace, had placed, in Paul’s heart, a great desire for these Thessalonians,” Dever said. He said the passion and desire Paul had was for the Thessalonian Christians to grow in their faith. He specifically prayed the believers would have their faith be supplied, nurtured and matured, have their love be increased and that they would be found holy and acceptable to God.

“(Paul) prays that any obstacles (in coming to God) would be overcome and taken out of the way,” Dever said. Though Paul had earlier praised the Thessalonian Christians about their faith, in this section of the letter, Dever said Paul was being honest and upfront about the challenges they were facing, praying they would be supplied in their faith so it may grow.

“Friends, never be insulted when someone says something negative about your spiritual state. Thank God for their concern, and invite their prayers,” Dever said. “Thank God for people who are willing to care for us and reach out.”

“I fear that sometimes people in our churches, and even our pastors, want to be flattered, more than they want to hear the truth. When you go to the doctor, do you just want a good report so you feel good when walking home or do you want the truth?” Dever asked. “I think you want the truth. That’s what we want in our pastors. We want pastors who will be faithful, like Paul was being faithful to the Thessalonians, not flattering them, but telling them the truth.”

Paul was not shunning the early Thessalonian Christians for their shortcomings in the faith, Dever said, but rather calling them to maturity in the faith.

Dever said Paul also prayed for the early believers’ love to be increased so their love would reflect the love of God. One way this was evident in the Thessalonian church was the diversity, which showed love to all people, regardless of race, social class or ethnic background.

“The world does understand when birds of a feather flock together,” Dever said. “They do not understand when blue jays and cardinals hang out.” Paul was praying for that kind of extravagant love that passed all boundaries to be abundant in the believers’ hearts and lives.

This passage also demonstrated how Paul prayed for the perseverance of the believers, Dever said, which demonstrated his attention to the future, as well as the past and present.

“Paul prayed specifically, ‘My brothers and sisters, I pray for you, that your faith may last. If the Lord tarries and spares you, 40 years from now you will be able to say, “I have run the race and I have fought the good fight.”’ Paul prayed they would be blameless and holy in the presence of God the Father.”

This focus on persevering in the faith is a topic that must be addressed in churches, Dever said. He said a great mark of the faith is perseverance and following Jesus, despite circumstances. He said Paul prayed that the early church would be shored up and built up so they could complete the tasks set before them, the greatest of which is to persevere.

“Just a word of pastoral advice to young pastors,” Dever said. “Sometimes you think growing in Christ means witnessing to 10 percent more people than you did this day last year, or having 15 more in Sunday School than you had last year. Those are good things. You’ll find as you go on in life, a lot of times, that persevering means following Jesus even with the circumstances God allows today.”

Dever said keeping the final horizon in view is so important in the believer’s faith walk, and that the final horizon is those who finally make it home to the Lord. Paul is concerned, not with numbers in churches, Dever said, but with the church’s holiness and spiritual growth.

Dever said all are people called to have their lives back up the good news people hear in church, even those who are part of imperfect churches like the one in Thessalonica.

“We are to be distinct and different from the world as we display the character of God,” Dever said. “The darker the nights get, the brighter the stars shine. Friends, we need to work on our churches so they are prepared with the right stuff.”

“When was the last time you prayed for your church?” Dever asked. “What a marvelous thing the Lord has called us to be about.”