The Pun
The Prayer
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you."(Colossians 1:3)
We pray for those who are in sin and have rejected us. We pray for those who are sacrificially generous toward us. We pray for those who are young in the faith, those who are not amazed by the grace in which they stand, and those we know little about. Paul modeled this varied sort of intercessory prayer by mentioning it in the introductions of nearly every epistle we have that he wrote.
But I am challenged as I read through those prayers because the predominant theme throughout them is can be summed up in one word: gratitude.
To the sin-ridden church or Corinth who rejected him, Paul says:
"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus," (1 Corinthians 1:4)
To the sacrificially generous church of Philippi he writes:
"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you," (Philippians 1:3)
To the young-in-faith Thessalonians he writes:
"We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing." (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
To the Ephesians in need of a deeper understanding of God’s love he wrote:
"I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers," (Ephesians 1:16)
And to the distant Romans he had never met he wrote:
"First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world." (Romans 1:8)
Of course, thanksgiving is not the only feeling Paul has for these churches. Within each letter there are expressions of grief, anger, love, and other varied affections. Yet it is the broader context of gratitude that sets the stage for expressing even the more difficult words each was in need of.
In our prayer for others, let us not limit ourselves to giving thanks to those who have benefitted us.
It is good and right to give thanks for any and all believers because each is a family member and an example of God's grace. These are the prayers that unify, glorify, and lead to a greater love for one another.
That pun is very groan-worthy.
My dad's been writing about Gospel-centered mentoring on Substack, and I'm trying to show him some support- could you maybe leave him some feedback?
https://authormatthewdoebler.substack.com/p/gospel-centered-mentoring-believes
I admit it was the silly pun that drew me in, but I love Paul’s grateful heart and how you lined it all up together magnifying love and gratefulness.