My God Has Ordained For Me To Pray In Togetherness As His Body For The Purpose Of Helping People, With The Result Of Multiplying Thanksgiving To Himself In Worship
2 Corinthians 1:11
(Children’s Sheet for Sermon Interaction is at bottom. Notes for young children to answer are throughout sermon)Pastor Kerry Kinchen, Bridgeway Bible Church
Please turn to 2 Corinthians 1:1-11. 2 Corinthians 1:11 will be the primary passage I am preaching from for our edification. As you find the passage, think about how easy it is to pray. I am talking about intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer is prayer that is meant for helping others. The privilege of intercessory prayer (or I should say, to pray in intercession) is a gift from God. It is a gift that we all can practice. Giving thanks to God is the same way. Every true Christian exercises the gift of thanking God. Every Christian can also find something to thank God for. In fact, every Christian should find something to thank God for. Even if you become so depressed that you temporarily find it difficult to thank God for your circumstances, you can easily thank Him for your everlasting spiritual salvation, right? So here is the point in this introduction; You can always pray; and you can always thank God. In fact, we must pray, and we must thank God. Each is God’s will. In our passage this morning, Paul combines both practices together in such a way as to have intercessory prayer be the means of uniting Christians in togetherness as the body of Christ so that
1--they will help others in seeking God’s sovereign hand of provision for those people,
and
2--it will lead to multiplied thanks to the One who answers the prayer as worship of Him as the One True God of the universe.
Keep this in mind as I read starting back in verse 8,
“8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope that He will yet deliver us again,
[and now the main verse I am wanting to focus upon in Paul’s flow of thought (verse 11)]
11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
With this beautiful passage of Scripture in mind, I ask you to please prepare your heart to be edified with this sermon. The theme is,
My God Has Ordained For Me To Pray In Togetherness As His Body For The Purpose Of Helping People, With The Result Of Multiplying Thanksgiving To Himself In Worship
[prayer]
As I get into this, I want to say that when I preach I want to make sure I bring out certain key principles for edification. Consequently, the way I approach sermons like this has a lot to do with what I think the Spirit is impressing me with from more than one angle. Sometimes there is a heavy theological angle. The heavy theological angle can sometimes seem academic. Academic things can sometimes be tedious, or they can appear to be so deep that they seem like they can drown us in the deepness. Consequently, I realize that tediousness and deepness can seem like a problem to some people. And then there is the fact that for some people, academic things don’t always seem like they have a relevant-practical side to them. But most Christians readily understand that heavy theological considerations are necessary. Yes, they are tedious. Yes, they are deep, but they are relevant and practical for doctrine which drives our actions. This is why it is important to learn to love the deeps. Those who do, have learned to see how precious the deeps are later on when they draw upon those things to help out when they wash onto the shores of confusing situations. The thing about this is that all Christians must recognize that theological concerns are our friends. They are not burdens of bondage. They are a focusing lens. Theological concerns help the bigger picture come into sharp clarity. The bigger picture, for example, concerning prayer and thanksgiving, involves viewing elements like God’s immensity, God’s sovereign determination, what He accomplishes at the metaphysical level and the physical level, how He does it, why, and so forth. The narrowed down kind of focus is concentrated more upon our part. People with narrowed down concentration can look at the fact that Christians should pray and give thanksgiving to God, and think
“That’s all I need to know.”
People who have a hard time understanding why the bigger picture is necessary for understanding what it means for us, do not think that the deeper theological concerns are really as important as what “they” personally think is really important. But this can lead to problems. Not all of them are the same problems. Nevertheless, they are problems. For example, there are some Christians who pray, and they think that they can make God change what He has determined. They think that if they have enough faith, then they can make God do things according to their faith. What I mean is that they think that this means that God must do what they want Him to do because He recognized that they generated enough faith for Him to do it. If God does not do it, then they think that they lacked enough faith to make Him do it. Or they think something like they have lived enough sinlessness in their life that God will answer their prayers by doing what they want; it is because of their seeming righteous living. If God does not do it, then they think they must have some hidden sin in the recesses of their soul somewhere. They think that if they fail to find that sin and confess it to God verbally, then He ignores all their other prayers. Or they think they sin so much that God does not answer them. Now, a whole lot of these folks do not think that theological frameworks are part of what is driving their prayer actions. But immediately we notice an irony. When we look at these things, we see that there actually is a theological framework after all. In fact it is complex. It is deep. Further, my point is that it demonstrates to us that any view of prayer has a theological framework. But the question is,
“Is the view correct?”
We want to live according to what is correct, right? And so Christians have their theological frameworks concerning prayer, even though they may not think that they do. And amazingly, it really is academic, deep, and often tedious after all, which becomes apparent whenever someone who believes anything about prayer (and I mean anything) is forced to explain why they believe what they believe. It comes out when they are forced to confront the bigger picture and explain their view of it whether their view is sufficient or not. The point is that biblically built theological considerations are necessary for laying foundations in our doctrine that can only come line-upon-line and precept-upon-precept. So, like I say, when I preach I want to make sure I bring out certain key principles for our edification, and one way I will approach sermons is from a heavy theological angle.
But there is another angle that I apply in approaching sermons. It is heavy on the exhortation side of things. This is where theology drives the doctrine, and from there the doctrine in which the exhortation finds it roots, drives our actions along by the power of the Spirit. And so right doctrine is what drives right actions. But what exactly is exhortation? Exhortation is when you urge someone to action. Biblical exhortation is when you urge someone to right actions. My task in respect to this is to urge us to live out applicable biblical principles in our lives so that we reflect manifesting Christ out of our hearts. Sometimes I go heavier on this than other times. And yet theology and exhortation must walk hand in hand in all the sermons I preach, no matter which is the dominating force. This brings me to the first principle that I want to bring out of the text for our edification. It is heavy on the theological side, but it drives the exhortation side.
/1/
The first biblical principle that I want us to glean out of this particular text in respect to the fact that our God has ordained for us to pray in togetherness (as a manifestation of the bodiness of the body of Christ) with others for the purpose of helping people, with the result of multiplying thanksgiving to himself, is that God is sovereign; and in His sovereignty, He works in concurrence with the prayers of His people (which means that He works in concurrence with your prayers) to deliver Christians from insurmountable circumstances. Paul calls this “helping” other Christians through prayers. When our sovereign God answers us with a yes answer, Paul also calls it “favor” from God which is bestowed through the prayers of Christians. All of this is important in respect to the first principle. Notice the critical theological statements in Paul’s instruction,
“10 ... He will yet deliver us again, 11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, ... for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:10-11
@1 We can help others by joining together in prayer for them so that God will bestow ________________ upon them. 2 Corinthians 1:10-11 (favor)
This is an amazing principle when we consider more theology, like for example that God, in His unfathomable immensity, has foreordained all that occurs, to occur according to His divine plan. Sometimes we use heavy theological language to describe what seems so perplexing to human minds. Sometimes we call this God’s divine decree. Sometimes we call it God’s divine determination. Whatever you choose to call it, it is a truly amazing manifestation of God’s creativity and control according to His essential being. Always remember that the perplexing subject of God’s sovereignty is only perplexing because we are looking into things that have to do with the attributes of God. It is perplexing to think about how all of God’s manifested attributes can exist the way they do within His creation. But though they are perplexing, they must exist because of the intrinsic existence of God. In other words, all the deep theological things about God’s sovereignty, God’s predestination, God’s foreordination, God expansive presence, God’s knowledge, decree, and determination, has to do with Who and what He is. And the way we operate in His creation as His created beings, has to do with what we are in respect to what He is. This is the way it is with considering the immense ability of God according to His essential being, especially in God’s divine decree, and God’s divine determination.
How do we relate to this?
How does God determine that we relate to all of this?
How do we relate to this in prayer and thanksgiving?
How does God determine that we relate to all of this in prayer and thanksgiving?
I have found that the theologian Vincent Cheung describes elements of this theological area pretty well, and so I like to repeat the quote often in approaching this subject. I am trying to make what is infinitely huge into a more understandable, albeit finite thought--as has Mr. Cheung. So think about what he says when he sets out to engage in the lofty task of defining divine determinism. He says,
"... theological or divine determinism, ... [is] the teaching that the personal God of the Bible has intelligently and immutably predetermined all events, including all human thoughts, decisions, and actions, and that by predetermining both the ends and the means to those ends. ... The fact is that things are more determined in divine determinism than in any other scheme. Under [the false doctrine of] "fatalism" ... an event is predetermined in such a way that the same outcome will result "no matter what you do," that is, regardless of means. But under divine determinism, although it "matters" what you do, "what you do" is also immutably predetermined in the first place. And it "matters" because there is a definite relationship between "what you do" and the outcome, but even this relationship is determined and controlled by God."
Determinism vs. Fatalism Vincent Cheung, May 14, 2005
http://www.vincentcheung.com/2005/05/14/determinism-vs-fatalism/
In other words, because of the very essential being of Who and what the infinite God is, God does things in His uniquely God-like way! And what we are talking about is the way in which God has sovereignly determined, for example (like the context of our passage states) all affliction, and all burden that is excessively beyond our strength to exist, or it would not exist. If God determines that it will not exist, then it won’t. If God determines that it will exist, then it will. This means (as Paul describes in verses 9-19) even to the point where we despair of life in which it seems we have the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. From eternity past, God, according to Who and what He is, has determined the means as well as the outcome of everything. From eternity past, God has also determined that part of the means would be to use the people he created, and then re-created in Christ Jesus, (which is you) to pray back to Him (your Creator) at the right time, to answer in the predetermined way to fulfill His divine decree. This cooperative process is called concurrence. In concurrence, you pray because what you do really does matter. In concurrence, God really hears your specific prayers, and God really answers you, His created being, in accord with those prayers; and yet His answer is also really something that He immutably (unchangeably) predetermined beforehand. And folks, it has to be this way. It wasn’t that God decided to create everything in which He has less control, and we have more. No. The way everything exists, is the way it must exist as the only created order that exists from the only wise controlling God who exists. And it must exist this way because of the essential being of God. Now as we attempt to think through these things, it is important to recognize that in concurrence, you do not bring anything new to God. In other words, you do not, and can not, surprise Him with something in your prayers. Further, you do not, and can not, manipulate God with your prayers. We do not give Him something to consider as if He needs to think about it, and then He decides how to answer us. No, it is much more amazing than that. But there is something personal about His immensity that involves us. The immense God of all, has a real, intimate relationship with us (His finite created ones) in which we are being used by Him (the infinite Creator) to be part of His design, function, and purpose in our privilege to exist as humans in His universe. It is a relationship in which prayer is His invention. And prayer that He invented, is His gift to you; but it begins with the fact that you are His gift to Himself in His sovereign decree. And it just so happens that you (God’s gift) have been created with real ability, real volition, and a real kind of ordained liberty within the whole predetermined schematic. In this way, God is never out of control, and yet we exist in such a way as if we perceive that we have more freedom than we really do. Part of that virtual freedom is that you can choose to pray, or you can choose not to pray, and it is truly your own choice; and yet it is God who has determined your choice. But there is another dimension to all of this. Think about whenever God’s elect people pray. When we do, by who are we doing so? Well, you are involved because, after all, you are praying. But, we pray by the enabler, life-giver, and power source in the New Covenant. We pray by the essential being of the person of the Holy Spirit. This is how you pray as a Christian. You pray by the Spirit. You do not pray by yourself alone. Keep this in mind, because when we do this in togetherness with the rest of the body, we are all praying by the same Spirit. And so we remember what this first principle is all about; God sovereignly works in concurrence with the prayers of His people to deliver Christians from insurmountable circumstances. It is a help in which you are helping other Christians through your prayers. When our sovereign God answers us with a yes answer, it is a kind of favor from God which is bestowed through the prayers of the body. All biblical prayer for the body, from the body, is a spiritual gift and ministry that all Christians have. If you will remember, back in 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul was explaining to the Corinthians that all the gifts of the Spirit are meant to be others-oriented. Others-orientation is what effective ministry involves. What Paul is saying here echos the underlying principle there in his first epistle. We pray as ministry and our ministry is magnified when we do this together which leads to the second principle.
/2/
The second principle is that though God will use you individually to pray intercessory prayers, God desires that this kind of reliance upon Him be done in prayers that come from the combined body. God wants the body of Christ to manifest itself in unity on this--in togetherness. Notice the key wording again as Paul wrote,
“11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers, ... through the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:11
The key words are “joining” and “many.” If the whole experience of concurrence is not amazing enough, in which you pray in God’s will, think about how God has also ordained for intercessory prayer to be done with many people joining together to do it with one mind on the matter too. This is His design of relationship with His creation extended to another level. It is a beautiful display when those who are recreated in Christ seek their Creator in unison as the body of Christ. Now as we consider this, we must realize that it is not that there are more people praying, and so because more people are praying, then supposedly God is overwhelmed with the numbers. It is not based upon how many people are praying in unison (in agreement) that He decides whether to answer with deliverance or not. It is much simpler than that. In much the same way that God wants His people to pray with Him in a concurrent relationship of the created with the Creator, God wants His specially created beings to pray in concurrence with one another as part of our design, function, and purpose as the interconnected people of God. Whenever we pray together in unity for something, then we are expressing our special relationship. We are practicing body-life together. So, when we experience the hope, we are experiencing it together. We also experience the answer together. We experience the help together. And God always answers every single prayer of His saints. Sometimes He answers with a no answer. Sometimes He answers with a wait answer. Sometimes He answers with something similar but not exactly the same thing. Sometimes He answers with a yes answer in which our prayer request turns out to be the same as the answer He ordained all along. Whatever the answer is, with the combined prayers, we all experience it together in an intimate way because we all prayed together as the spiritual organism called the body of Christ for the answer. So this principle is that God desires that this kind of reliance upon Him in ministry as our own ministry involvement, is to also be done in prayers that come from the combined body which includes you too. Yes, of course you can intercede in prayer for others by yourself, but this principle is that sharing with the body in the task is a special experience for special reasons. This leads to the next principle.
/3/
The third principle is that God desires that many Christians pray together for a particular answer; and so God wants the combined body to pray specifically for something. But the principle has more to it. So listen to the complete principle that I am wanting to bring out. Essentially God wants the combined body to pray specifically for something so that everyone involved with the prayers gives thanks to God for His answer. In other words, God wants the combined body to experience the task of praying specifically for something so that everyone praying together is blessed for being interested enough to practice their prayer ministry of helping (because prayer really is an action meant to help) and in turn everyone in body-life thanks the sovereign miraculous helper-God together for answering with favor in time of need. God’s hand is recognized by everyone, and shared among everyone, and He gets the thanks which means that He gets the glory in being worshipped by everyone. What is this? It is another shape of church life in action for the Lord. Again, notice the key wording,
“11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers,
so that
thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:11
@2 God wants the combined body to pray _____ _________________ many persons can give thanks for His answer. 2 Corinthians 1:11 (so that)
Notice the “so that” in Paul’s reason for the corporate prayer. Always pay attention to the “so thats” in Paul’s epistles. Paul is stating the principle. And notice that Paul has more in mind than just the answer itself. He says that it is so that thanks to God will be given by many people on behalf of those being prayed for who actually get the benefit of the favor-answer. Yes, of course one person could pray and give thanks, but that is not the principle we are gleaning right now. We are gleaning an important truth from this passage right here. Paul says that the thanks by many people comes because everyone is recognizing God’s sovereign hand of favor in answering with a yes answer concerning the apostles through the prayers of many. God loves this group action of petition and attending thanksgiving to Him.
Think about whenever you pray along with others in intercessory prayer. You know what your prayer request is that you want to pray. You want to pray for God to do something with, or for, people. And so in shared prayer, you turn your face toward God with others to make the request. Everyone’s goal is to seek help for the specific people prayed for. In seeking help from God, you are making your own effort to help-out; but you know something important. You know that you are only helping because God is the helper don’t you? In other words, you are not the one getting the thanks for the answer to the prayer. The prayer-group, though praying, and though seeking to help through united prayer, is not getting the thanks either. You never made the answer happen. You were not praying by the power of your own spirit. Yes, of course you prayed, but God is the power-person who answered with grace-favor that He decided to determine. And again, it is you who prayed, but you prayed by the Person of God’s Spirit. So you turned your face to God in time of need by His own power working within you through the Holy Spirit, and then in His provision, you turned back to God again in thanksgiving. And the thanks part is not a side issue either. Actually, the giving of thanks to God is Paul’s primary focus. Why? Because to do so is the particular kind of glorifying worship that sees God as sovereignly answering according to His own determination. And worship is exactly what we are doing any time we pray. Corporate worship and thanks is what we are doing whenever we pray with others. When we pray, we are worshipping God as the sovereign One who listens and answers. So it is important for us to realize that our prayer is an expression of worship. So is the thanks that is given to God. It is worship of Him too. In this principle, I am wanting us to think about the togetherness aspect, because just as praying together in togetherness is something that the body should be doing, giving thanks to God in togetherness is something that the body of Christ should be doing too. One leads to the other, and when more people are participating then more thanksgiving results. The body is corporately worshipping God in a distinct and beautiful way, and so God gets what He deserves--worship, but worship from a whole lot of His people. The whole expression of real thanksgiving which spreads among more and more Christians is the extended worship we are looking for in the process of this principle. The spread of thanksgiving is why Paul says later in chapter 4 in respect to His ministry in spreading the gospel,
“15 For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:15
Now think about this. Certainly Paul’s gospel ministry was unto the Lord. But Paul’s apostolic ministry in which the Corinthians shared as the body, is also for the Corinthian’s sakes too. This is all part of the bigger picture aspect that I mentioned earlier. In the bigger picture, it is not for their sakes alone, and yet it is for their sakes in a certain manner and a certain sense. Why was if for their sakes too? So that the gift of salvation which was getting out to more and more people, would cause the Corinthians to give thanks to God. In this way, many thanksgivings increased which means the principle--worship was increasing among the body, while salvation was increasing through evangelism. This is bigger picture theology (and it is the practical way the Spirit defines practicality) and it helps us to always recognize how involved God is in all the details of life no matter how we perceive what is going on in the smaller picture. But there is more. A little later in chapter 9 Paul says something similar again. I am going to read Paul echoing the same principle again in 9:11, but I want us to notice that this time he does it in respect to the Corinthians giving financially to support Paul’s ministry. Look at every word very carefully as I read,
“11 you will be enriched in everything to be generous in every way,
[in giving money]
which through us
[now notice what the giving to the apostles ministry is producing. Paul says,]
is producing thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the set apart ones,
[Okay that has the principle. But Paul goes on and repeats it again in 12-13. Notice]
but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.
[There is the many thanksgiving. It is overflowing. It is abundant worship. He goes on]
13 Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all,” 2 Corinthians 9:11-13
This is an amazing, and consistently biblical principle. It is interesting how Paul really pressed this principle in a strong way all through 2 Corinthians. The reason that Paul presses it so strongly in so many ways throughout 2 Corinthians may be because of the general lack of understanding of God’s sovereignty in concurrence with man’s responsibility among the Corinthians, plus their general lack of thankfulness concerning Paul’s ordained ministry. We don’t know for sure. We do know that Paul is thankful for the good news from Titus concerning the fact that there are faithful men in the Corinthian church who are listening to Paul and supporting Him. So we know that Paul encourages them even more with this epistle; but at the same time, the Spirit leads Paul to make comments that continue to teach the bigger picture. Why? Because the bigger picture is what brings stability. Through the financial giving of the Corinthians through the work of the apostles, the bigger picture is that more and more thanksgiving to God is produced. So let’s think about how the ministry of their giving service does two things. It provides for the needs of the saints--the set apart ones in Christ (Christians)--but it also does something else. It overflows through many thanksgivings to God. The principle is that others will glorify God because of the obedience of the Corinthians to the gospel, and they will also glorify God for the Corinthian’s generous giving to the expansive body of Christ. According to the bigger picture, all of this is what? It is worship of God in His sovereign orchestration of all things for His glory. This is what we are talking about; and so it grows the more people are involved in the process. God wants His glory to spread just like He wants the gospel to spread. In this way, people have turned their faces directly toward Him in focused recognition. When Paul wrote this Greek phrase we are studying, there is an intentional imagery inherent in the wording that some translations give. When he speaks of His prophetic insight that God will deliver him in concurrence with the Corinthians joining in helping the apostles through their prayers so that thanks may be given by many people (prosopon), Paul literally says that it is so that thanks may be given “by many faces.” I take Paul’s meaning to be that instead of many Christians turning their faces to man’s efforts, or the false notion of fate, or blind chance, and so forth, the members of the body turn their faces toward God in direct recognition, thanks, and praise unto Him in which the glory alone belongs for all answered prayer. What this means for you--for me--for all of us--is that we need to do two things together:
We need to make it our spiritual habit to join together to turn our faces toward God in prayer for one another in intercession.
And we need to turn our faces toward God in thanksgiving concerning all He does in respect to how He answers our prayers.
But does this mean that we decide not to thank God when He does not answer our prayers the way we want Him too? No. Does this mean that we quit praying because we see more "no" answers than we do "yes" answers? No. We must remember that Paul also teaches by the Spirit to
“17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18
@3 God wants us to pray continuously, giving thanks in everything because this is God’s ____________ for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (will)
This is God’s will. The Spirit specifically says to pray to God all the time. So this means that we need to pray without ceasing no matter what we perceive the percentages are in respect to what we want and what God provides. The exhortation is to pray, pray, pray. And then notice what else the Spirit tells us to do in our continual persistence in prayer. We must give thanks in “everything.” This means to give thanks in both the yes answers and the no answers. This goes beyond the deliverance of Paul. It also goes for Paul’s imprisonment and execution too. The point is that God has a plan. We either trust Him enough to pray to Him all the time, or we don’t. We either trust Him enough to thank Him all the time for all He determines to happen, or we don’t. But God’s declared will for us who are in Christ Jesus is to pray all the time, and to thank Him in everything all the time. He wants us to do this when we are alone. He wants us to do this together. This means that we are going to have to step out in faith and give thanks in the things that don’t make sense to us when we look at it all with earthly eyes. We are going to need to walk by faith and not by sight in this kind of prayer and thanks walk. Paul said the same thing to the Colossian Christians. His urging was to be devoted to prayer. He said in Colossians 4:2,
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;” Colossians 4:2
So the principle is that we are to be devoted whole-heartedly to prayer, and we notice again the attending attitude that is more than an option. It is actually part of the process. It is the attitude of thanksgiving. It is thanksgiving while you pray--not because you see the result first. Even when we are requesting something from God, we need to be giving the thanks for His sovereign determination beforehand. This is the walk of faith. Notice Philippians 4:6,
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6
@4 God wants you to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving to let your ______________________ be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6 (requests)
So you should always give thanksgiving to God as you let your prayer request be made known to Him--no matter what. In doing so, you are walking according to eyes of faith while gazing at the bigger picture. You are worshipping God. And when you do so as a minister who is building up your brothers and sisters, you are spreading thanksgiving to God among the body. Whenever the rest of the body sees you thanking God in all things, they learn from you. In a sense you are operating as a worship leader. They see what you are doing, and they are learning to apply the truths we are exploring for our lives. Their own faith is strengthened to walk by faith and not by sight too. They also learn that they should recognize God’s goodness in everything, even if the circumstances hurt. They learn that they should recognize God’s goodness, even if He has determined not to make the circumstances, or the hurts, go away. They learn that they should thank God in everything, and that it is not weird to thank God in everything; but that it is normal to do, expected to do, that they can do it, and they should do it too. What we hope will happen is that they will begin thanking God for everything while praying petitions to Him in continual worship. If you will remember in the introduction this morning, I said that prayer and thanks are two things we can always do. Even if you become so depressed that you temporarily find it difficult to thank God for your circumstances, you can easily thank Him for your everlasting spiritual salvation, right? But now I want to magnify what the Spirit says that goes beyond that. The Lord says that no matter what is happening we must pray, and we must pray a lot; and we must thank Him, and we must thank Him a lot; and we must keep the rest of the body in mind as we do this.
Let’s recap; We have been looking at the fact that God has ordained for us to pray. He especially wants us to pray in togetherness as the body of Christ for the purpose of helping people, with the result of multiplying thanksgiving to Himself. This whole principle is heavy on the theological side, but it drives the exhortation side which is the doing side of our Christianity. We looked at the fact that in God’s ordination of all of this, He is sovereign. In God’s sovereignty, He works in concurrence with the prayers of His people to deliver Christians from insurmountable circumstances. The biblical language for this is “helping.” We are helping other Christians through our prayers. When our sovereign God answers us with a yes answer, Paul calls it favor from God which is bestowed through the prayers of Christians. We also explored a desire of God in respect to this kind of reliance. This particular desire is that the reliance be done in prayers that come from the combined body. God delights in the body being the body for the body. So God wants His people to pray in togetherness. It is actually corporate worship. We also saw that though we can pray alone, and we should, God also wants many Christians to pray for a particular answer. When God brings the help answer, He wants multiplied thanks as His glory spreads and grows and is proclaimed among multitudes. When God gets thanked, it is simple--He gets glory in being worshipped. And this is what we want. So let’s make it our ambition to pray, pray, pray together without ceasing, while looking forward to all of these things, Amen.
@1 We can help others by joining together in prayer for them so that God will bestow ________________ upon them. 2 Corinthians 1:10-11 (favor)
@2 God wants the combined body to pray _____ _________________ many persons can give thanks for His answer. 2 Corinthians 1:11 (so that)
@3 God wants us to pray continuously, giving thanks in everything because this is God’s ____________ for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (will)
@4 God wants you to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving to let your ______________________ be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6 (requests)
