We Always Pray

“I’ll pray for you.” 

How many times have you heard someone say that to you? 

How many times have you said it to others? 

Have you ever forgotten to pray after promising to do so? I have. Most of the time if I am honest. 

Wouldn’t it be great if not only we said it more but heard it more and, ultimately, actually prayed more.  

What might happen if we actually could say that in our lives, our churches, our convention that “we always pray for you?” That would be a pretty bold claim. But that’s exactly what Paul says to the Thessalonian church:

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 – To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,  so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

As the DBC President, I am responsible to set the theme for our next annual Baptist gathering which drives our emphasis for the whole year. 

I have chosen, “We always pray” as our theme. I would love for the things Paul prayed for the Thessalonians to be what we ask God for in our convention: 

• That God would make us worthy of His calling
• That God would fulfill every resolve we have for good 
• That God would infuse every work of faith with His power
• That the name of the Lord Jesus would be glorified in each one of us
• That we might be glorified in the Lord Jesus according to God’s grace

I want those things for me! I want those things for my church! I want those things for you and your church too!  

As Matthew Henry says, “When God intends great mercy for His people, He sets them apraying.” Do we need God’s mercy in the DBC? Then God will prompt us to pray.  

H.B. Charles says, “Revival is not preached up from the ground but prayed down from heaven.” Do we need revival in the DBC? Then let’s pray that God would send it down. 

Charles Spurgeon says, “Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We know not what prayer can do.” No offense, but I think we may be the definition of human weakness, human folly, and troubled mortals. As such, we may be uniquely positioned for extraordinary blessing if we’ll only pray. 

Jesus says there are spirits that can only be driven out by prayer (Mark 9:29). I could go on and on. You get it. You’ve preached it. 

Bottom line: Let’s devote ourselves to prayer this year (Acts 6:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  

I have three calls to action for each of us: 

• Pick one DBC church right now (literally right now) and pray 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 for that church and pastor. Send that pastor a note saying that you prayed for him and his church. 
• Do that same thing weekly for a different sister church. Work through the whole list of DBC churches one by one. Even consider doing that publicly in your Sunday worship gathering so that your people get the joy of joining in.  
• Regularly jump on a weekly Sunday night Zoom prayer meeting. We could see and hear one another pray with and for one another in real time. We could water the gospel seeds we scattered earlier that day. We could bear one another’s burdens as we enter a new week. More details to come.  

James 4:2b says, “You do not have, because you do not ask.”

Let’s take this year to see what God may be willing to give us if we would just ask.    

May we be able to honestly say that in the DBC “We always pray.” 

“What might happen if we actually could say that in our lives, our churches, our convention that “we always pray for you?” That would be a pretty bold claim.”