OK. I admit that it might be expected and a bit predictable for me to blog about thankfulness the day before Thanksgiving. But sometimes predictability is good, and some topics never go out of fashion. So maybe you’ll find this message to be a bit cliche, but as my friend and ministry associate Josh Ryder says, “I’m OK with that.” Well that’s enough of me defending my lack of creativity this week.
The Apostle Paul usually included a section of Thanksgiving near the beginning of each of his letters. Some scholars suggest that what Paul gives thanks for in these sections gives us insight into the primary content of the remainder of the letter. Paul reveals his heart for his readers in these sections. But imagine receiving a letter from the Apostle Paul – one of the greatest church leaders in Kingdom history – and reading something like this:
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” (Read the rest of his prayer in Philippians 1.3-11)
And then imagine what it must have been like for Paul to be thinking of you when he penned that prayer. Imagine the encouragement and affirmation the believers at Philippi received when they read Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving for them. Think of the challenge Paul set for them to live up to his kind words about them. In essence, Paul was telling them “I’m praying this for you, now do your part in seeing to it that those prayers are answered.”
But what about us? What do Paul’s prayers for believers in Mediterranean towns 2000 years ago have for us as we pursue Christ in a Midwest city today? Well, there’s lots they offer us, but let me offer you just these couple ideas today. Live in such a way that others are prompted to say similar prayers of thanksgiving whenever they think of you. Also, think about the encouragement your small group members would get if you wrote a prayer of thanks for each of them. Think of the impact it could have on them if you included specific things you are praying for God to do in their lives to draw them more closely to Himself.
And, as small group leaders at West Side, know that I always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when I pray for you! (Colossians 1.3)
