Part 1 (1/2)

The Prayers of St. Paul.

by W. H. Griffith Thomas.

PREFACE

The t.i.tle of the present series is a sufficient indication of its purpose.

Few preachers, or congregations, will face the long courses of expository lectures which characterised the preaching of the past, but there is a growing conviction on the part of some that an occasional short course, of six or eight connected studies on one definite theme, is a necessity of their mental and ministerial life. It is at this point the projected series would strike in. It would suggest to those who are mapping out a scheme of work for the future a variety of subjects which might possibly be utilised in this way.

The appeal, however, will not be restricted to ministers or preachers. The various volumes will meet the needs of laymen and Sabbath-school teachers who are interested in a scholarly but also practical exposition of Bible history and doctrine. In the hands of office-bearers and mission-workers the ”Short Course Series” may easily become one of the most convenient and valuable of Bible helps.

It need scarcely be added that while an effort has been made to secure, as far as possible, a general uniformity in the scope and character of the series, the final responsibility for the special interpretations and opinions introduced into the separate volumes, rests entirely with the individual contributors.

One of the most valuable elements in the Epistles of St. Paul is their revelation of the writer's spiritual life. While they are necessarily doctrinal and theological, dealing with the fundamental realities of the Christian religion, they are also intensely personal, and express very much of the Apostle's own experience. They depict in a marked degree the sources and characteristics of the spiritual life. This is especially seen when the various prayers, thanksgivings, doxologies, and personal testimonies are considered.

I.

GRACE AND HOLINESS.

I.

GRACE AND HOLINESS.

”Now G.o.d Himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before G.o.d, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.”--1 THESS. iii. 11-13.

There are few more precious subjects for meditation and imitation than the prayers and intercessions of the great Apostle. He was a man of action because he was first and foremost a man of prayer. To him both aspects of the well-known motto were true: ”To pray is to labour,” and ”To labour is to pray.”

There is no argument for or justification of prayer; nor even an explanation. It is a.s.sumed to be the natural and inevitable expression of spiritual life. Most of the Apostle's prayers of which we have a record are concerned with other people rather than with himself, and they thus reveal to us indirectly but very really what St. Paul felt to be the predominant needs of the spiritual life.

In this series of studies we propose to look at some of these prayers, and to consider their direct bearing upon our own lives. Taking the Epistles in what is generally regarded to be their chronological order, we naturally commence with the prayer found in 1 Thess. iii. 11-13. In this pa.s.sage we have what is not often found, a prayer for himself a.s.sociated with prayer for others.

1. HIS PRAYER FOR HIMSELF (ver. 11).

Let us notice _Who it is to Whom he prays_--”G.o.d Himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” The a.s.sociation of Christ with G.o.d as One to Whom prayer is addressed is of course very familiar to us, but it ought never to be forgotten that when the Apostle penned these words the a.s.sociation was both striking and significant. For consider: these words were written within twenty-five years of our Lord's earthly life and ascension, and yet here is this quiet but clear a.s.sociation of Him with the Father, thus testifying in a very remarkable and convincing way to His G.o.dhead as the Hearer of prayer. And this fact is still more noticeable in the original, for St. Paul in this verse breaks one of the familiar rules of grammar, whether of Greek or English. It is well known that whenever there are two nouns to a verb the verb must be in the plural; and yet here the Greek word ”direct” is in the singular, notwithstanding the fact that there are two subjects, the Father and Christ. The same feature is to be found in 2 Thess. ii. 17. It is evident from this what St. Paul thought of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is in such simple, indirect testimonies that we find the strongest and most convincing proofs that the early Church believed in the Deity of our Lord.

Let us consider _what it is for which he prays_--”Direct our way.” He asks for guidance. There had been certain difficulties in the way of his return to Thessalonica. He had been hindered, and now asks that G.o.d would open the way for him to go back to his beloved friends. Nothing was outside the Apostle's relations.h.i.+p to G.o.d, and nothing was too small about which to pray to G.o.d. As it has been well said: ”Nothing is so small that we do not honour G.o.d by asking His guidance of it, or insult Him by taking it out of His hands.” The need of guidance is a very real one in every Christian life, and the certainty of guidance is just as real. ”The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Ps. x.x.xvii. 23); and this is as true now as ever. ”I will guide thee with Mine eye” (Ps. x.x.xii. 8) is a promise for all time, and we may confidently seek guidance in prayer whenever it is needed. The answer to our prayer will come in a threefold way. G.o.d guides us by His Spirit, reigning supreme within our hearts. He also guides us by the counsels and principles of His Word. These two agree in one, for the Holy Spirit never guides contrary to the Word. And then, in the third place, He guides us by His Providence, so that when the Word, the Spirit, and Providence in daily circ.u.mstances agree we may be sure that the guidance has been given.

2. HIS PRAYER FOR OTHERS (vers. 12, 13).

Consider the _immediate request_ he makes--”The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men.” He asks for _love_ on their behalf, that G.o.d would grant them this greatest of all gifts--”the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before Him.” Love in the New Testament is no mere sentiment, for it involves self-sacrifice. It is not limited to emotion; it expresses itself in energy. It does not evaporate in feeling; it expresses itself in fact. ”Love is of G.o.d,” for ”G.o.d is love”; and the Apostle in praying this prayer asks for the supreme gift of their lives.

The measure of the gift is noticeable--”Increase and abound in love.” The ”increase” has to do with their inner life, their hearts being more and more enlarged in capacity to possess this love; the ”abounding” has to do with their outward life, and points to the overflow of that love towards others.