Working together for the cause of the gospel is not always easy. Even though each one understands the truth and wants to go out and follow the Lord's commission to make disciples, still sometimes when we do it together the enemy finds a way to undermine the work.
Paul writes here to a church that he has heard about - a faithful church,a loving church, a church that is bearing fruit not only in conversions but also in the lives of each believer - the fruit of the Spirit that is becoming more evident as they grow in their understanding of the grace of God in truth and he tells them that because he has heard a good report of them he has not stopped praying for them. Why? How come he feels the need to pray?
We find the answer in his prayer - he prays that they will grow in their experiential knowledge of God's will so that they will live worthy of the Lord. He prays that as they do they will please God in every respect, they will bear fruit in every good work and that will increase their knowledge of God. But that is not the end - he goes on because he wants them to attain to more - he prays for their strengthening by the Lord's power so that they will attain steadfastness and patience. We might have expected something else - something that sounds more exciting, more appealing but no, he prays that they will grow to such an extent that they will be cheerfully patient with each other and long suffering in every circumstance.
How amazing that is - this is the end result - this is what he asks the Lord for on their behalf - why? Because he knows that ministry is difficult - that human beings have issues and baggage and that the enemy uses it all to slow down or even stop the work of the gospel, the work of discipleship.
Working together for the cause of the gospel always presents trials BUT Paul is confident that God will answer his prayer and will work in each one, chipping away at the edges, molding and shaping them into a fitting temple for the Lord, into a body of believers who will so shine in their community that they will be recognised for their joy and perseverance, their patience and steadfastness - no matter the difficulties they face in their fellowship with one another.
This should be our prayer for one another - that wherever the Lord has placed us, in whatever fellowship or church or ministry - that He would have His way, that we would so grow in our knowledge of His will that we are enabled to not only bear with one another but to do it with joy so that everyone can see that these are people who really love one another, who choose to submit themselves to one another, who decide that they will consider others as more important than themselves and that there is nothing, absolutely nothing that they will allow to interfere with the work of the Lord through them
This should be our prayer for one another - that wherever the Lord has placed us, in whatever fellowship or church or ministry - that He would have His way, that we would so grow in our knowledge of His will that we are enabled to not only bear with one another but to do it with joy so that everyone can see that these are people who really love one another, who choose to submit themselves to one another, who decide that they will consider others as more important than themselves and that there is nothing, absolutely nothing that they will allow to interfere with the work of the Lord through them
