How often have you specifically prayed as Paul did in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24?

Forum category

1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

Surely, one of the greatest failures by all of us as believers is our repeated failure to pray to God that He would preserve our entire *bodies* blameless unto the coming of Christ.

Ask yourself, “When was the last time that I specifically prayed for God to do that for my entire body and for the entire bodies of those whom I love?”

Poll Results

How often have you specifically prayed as Paul did in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24?

Never Votes: 0
Hardly ever Votes: 2
At least once a month Votes: 0
Weekly Votes: 0
Several times a week or more Votes: 1
Regularly in the past but not recently Votes: 1
Other. Please specify in a comment below. Votes: 0

(Migrated poll)

N/A
0% (0 votes)
Total votes: 0

Discussion

I used to pray this prayer for myself and for others with some regularity in previous years. For some reason that I am not sure about, I have not done so in recent years.

God challenged me last night about my failure to pray this way. With God’s help, I intend to return to praying regularly this way for me and for others.
I challenge you to do the same.

1 Samuel 12:23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: 24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

Scripture teaches that spiritual leaders who fail to pray regularly for those for whom they should be praying sin against the Lord.

Only God knows how prevalent the sin of many pastors and other spiritual leaders therefore has been who have failed to pray regularly for God to sanctify entirely their people and preserve their entire spirits, souls, and bodies blameless until Christ comes.

Another passage in which Paul mentions the idea of being blameless is I Cor 1:4-9, where Paul thanks God for the believers and assures them that God will keep them firm to the end so that they will be blameless.

[Kevin Miller]

Another passage in which Paul mentions the idea of being blameless is I Cor 1:4-9, where Paul thanks God for the believers and assures them that God will keep them firm to the end so that they will be blameless.

How does your mentioning this information relate to the need to pray as Paul prayed in 1 Thess. 5:23-24?

[RajeshG]
Kevin Miller wrote:

Another passage in which Paul mentions the idea of being blameless is I Cor 1:4-9, where Paul thanks God for the believers and assures them that God will keep them firm to the end so that they will be blameless.

How does your mentioning this information relate to the need to pray as Paul prayed in 1 Thess. 5:23-24?

My wife and I had been doing a study together of Paul’s prayers in the epistles, and ALL of Paul’s prayers are great examples of what we as believers need to be praying about for ourselves and other believers. I made the connection because both of these prayers, which we should emulate, mention the believer’s blamelessness. It seems to me that this concept was something that Paul wanted believers to be conscious about.

[Kevin Miller]
RajeshG wrote:

Kevin Miller wrote:

Another passage in which Paul mentions the idea of being blameless is I Cor 1:4-9, where Paul thanks God for the believers and assures them that God will keep them firm to the end so that they will be blameless.

How does your mentioning this information relate to the need to pray as Paul prayed in 1 Thess. 5:23-24?

My wife and I had been doing a study together of Paul’s prayers in the epistles, and ALL of Paul’s prayers are great examples of what we as believers need to be praying about for ourselves and other believers. I made the connection because both of these prayers, which we should emulate, mention the believer’s blamelessness. It seems to me that this concept was something that Paul wanted believers to be conscious about.

Ok. I have not typically understood what he says in 1 Cor. 1:8-9 to be so much the content of his prayers for the Corinthians but to be declarative statements about similar content to 1 Thess. 5:23-24. In any case, it’s good that you and your wife are studying Paul’s prayers and believe that we should emulate them!

Comparing what 1 Thess. 4:3 specifies about our sanctification with Paul’s prayer in 1 Thess. 5:23-24 teaches us that Paul especially had in mind entire sanctification of our bodies concerning sexual morality:

1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification [ἁγιασμὸς] , that ye should abstain from fornication:

1 Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify [ἁγιάσαι] you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

The Church is plagued today with widespread moral failures, especially abounding fornication.

Have our failures to pray for ourselves and one another what Paul prayed for the Thessalonians in 1 Thess. 5:23-24 been a major contributor to these widespread moral failures?
Only God knows. For our part, we must be faithful in praying fervently for God to sanctify all of us wholly in our spirits, souls, and bodies.