I met my
friend Angie for lunch after having not seen her for several months. At the end
of our time together, she pulled out a piece of paper with notes from our
previous get-together. It was a list of my prayer requests she had been praying
for since then. She went through each one and asked if God had answered yet or
if there were any updates. And then we talked about her prayer requests. How
encouraging to have a praying friend!
The
apostle Paul had a praying relationship with the churches he served, including
the one at Thessalonica. He thanked God for the faith, love, and hope of the
people (1 Thess. 1:2-3). He longed to see them, and asked God “night and day”
that he might be able to visit them again (3:10-11). He requested that the Lord
would help them “increase and abound in love to one another and to all” (v.12).
He also prayed that their hearts would be blameless before God (v.13). They
must have been encouraged as they read about Paul’s concern and prayers for
them. Paul knew too his own need for God’s presence and power and pleaded,
“Brethren, pray for us” (5:25).
Loving
Father, thank You for wanting us to talk with You. Teach us all to be praying
friends.
The best
kind of friend is a praying friend. (RBC)
