This was posted by a friend on a prayer
group! It's by Pastor Rick Renner on praying for missionaries... POWERFUL
instruction from the Word of God! Long but vital if we are serious about
praying for missionaries!" Have you read this? This is copied from
Sparkling Gems From the Greek by Rick Renner which you can obtain by going to
renner.org
Pray That the Word of the Lord May
Have Free Course!
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the
word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with
you. -- 2 Thessalonians 3:1
Have you ever wondered how you should pray for missionaries or for people who
are preaching the Word on the front lines where it is more difficult? Well,
today I'm going to give you the answer. And please - while you're praying for
people on the front lines, be sure to remember to pray for me too!
The apostle Paul did what I call "front-line ministry work." As noted
earlier (see August 3), Paul's ministry took him places where the Church was
non-existent. He dealt with hostile governments; he faced opposition from false
religions; he pushed the evil forces of the demonic realm out of the way; he
brought converts from the bleakness of paganism and turned them into living,
breathing members of the Body of Christ. This task is never for the
light-hearted, but only for the extremely committed.
As Paul makes his final remarks to the Thessalonians in Second Thessalonians 3,
he says, "Finally, brethren, pray for us...." The word
"finally" comes from the Greek words to loipon, which mean for the
rest of the matter or to the last issue at hand. Paul has saved some very vital
information for the end of his letter; therefore, he uses the words to loipon
to let us know that although his letter is concluding, he still has something
of high importance to say to the Thessalonian church.
Then Paul makes his request: "Finally, brethren, pray for us...." The
Greek word translated "pray" is from the wordproseuchomai. As it is
used in this verse, this word means to pray continually or to pray without
stopping. Paul is sincerely asking for committed prayer partners who will pray
nonstop for his team, his ministry, and for himself. When he says, "Pray
for us," the word "for" is the Greek word peri, which means
around or about. Paul is specifically requesting prayer for those things that
are around or aboutthem - hence, the things that concern them and their
ministry.
Next, Paul gets more specific about how to pray. He says,"Pray for us,
that the word of the Lord may have free course...." The Greek could be
better translated, "Pray for us, that the Lord's word may have free
course...." The Greek actually means the word that originates from the
Lord.
This tells us that Paul was very conscious of the fact that he was not
preaching his own manmade message or a message that belonged to him (see
Galatians 1:11,12). He was carrying a divinely revealed message that originated
with and belonged to the Lord. In all his years of ministry, Paul was always
mindful that the message he carried was given to him by the Lord.
Furthermore, Paul knew that his responsibility was to preach that message.
Therefore, he asked the Thessalonians to join him in praying that the Lord's
message might have "free course." These words "free course"
come from the Greek word trecho, which means to run.
Before we go any further, let's stop and look deeper into the meaning of the
word trecho. This word often referred torunners who ran a foot race in a huge
stadium before adoring crowds of fans. In order for the runner to run
successfully and finish triumphantly, every ounce of his strength and his
complete attention was required.
There is no doubt that Paul had this picture in his mind as he wrote this
verse, for he was in a race to preach the Gospel to as many souls as possible
before he came to the end of his life. He was in a spiritual race, a real
competition. Racing urgently and with all his might against the enemy who wants
to eternally destroy and damn souls, Paul put forth his best efforts to save as
many souls as possible.
However, there is another powerful image in the wordtrecho that applies to this
verse. This word was also used to describe the swift-running messengers who
dashed between enemy lines to carry vital messages of instruction to those who
waited on the other side of the battle. These especially brave and courageous
messengers were essential if battles were to be won.
You can clearly see why Paul would have chosen to use this illustration, for he
was indeed a God-sent messenger running back and forth through enemy territory,
delivering the message of the Cross, as well as instructions to the churches
that looked to him for apostolic leadership. Paul was God's special,
swift-running messenger!
There is no doubt in my mind that Paul used the Greek word trecho to convey
both of these ideas to his readers. Paul saw himself as one who was running in
a race, competing for the souls of men. He also saw himself as God's messenger,
whose principal goal was to run back and forth through enemy territory,
delivering vital information to the people who awaited it. Paul's intention was
that both of these ideas would convey the challenge that lay before him - as
well as the reason he needed people to regularly pray for him.
One more important fact must be pointed out. The tense Paul uses when he
requests prayer that the word of the Lord may have "free course"
indicates a constant and continuous pace. Thus, it is possible to translate
this phrase, "Pray that we will be able to keep up the pace that is
required for us to get this message out!"
You see, Paul and his associates were already running very hard. If they were
going to keep up with God's pace - if the Gospel message was going to keep
spreading at such a miraculous rate of speed - they would need supernatural
assistance and empowerment from above!
Finally, Paul makes one last prayer request. He asks for prayer that the word
of the Lord may "...be glorified, even as it is with you." The word
"glorified" is the Greek word doxadzo, which paints the picture of
the triumphant arrival of God's glory, ushering in a new and glorious day in
the lives and the territories where the word of the Lord is heard and received.
Dr. John Catlin, Professor of Classical Greek and Chairman of the Classics
Department at a leading university, once wrote this to me:
At first glance, the language of the New Testament appears to be disarmingly
simple, but a deeper look gives us an appreciation of the difficulties facing
translators of that work.It is clear that whereas no translation can exactly
reproduce the original meaning, nevertheless, through an understanding of the
original language, or at least the broad range of meaning that many of the
words in that language have, it is more readily possible to penetrate and
comprehend the meaning of that original language. It's all too easy for those
who are fluent in only one language to assume that there are exact equivalents
between languages.
One of the greatest challenges of Bible translators is to translate into
English the many ideas and images that are in Greek words. Perhaps no example
makes this clearer than Paul's prayer request in this verse, which in English
is a mere twenty-four words in length. But those twenty-four words are packed
with power and meaning!
These powerful words used by Paul in Second Thessalonians 3:1 convey the
following ideas:
"Finally, brothers, pray for us and for those things that concern us. Pray
that the word of the Lord will spread quickly and without resistance. Pray that
we will be able to keep up the pace that is required for us to get this message
out!
"To fulfill this task, we have to be like runners whose eyes are fixed on
the goal before us! We must be like brave, bold, daring, and courageous
messengers, whose job is to carry vital information across enemy lines. We have
to move promptly and swiftly to get the message of the Gospel to the other side
where people are desperately waiting.
"Since the Lord has dispatched us to carry this message, and since this
task requires us to run speedily through dangerous territory, we request prayer
that we will be able to make it through every skirmish, clash, confrontation,
and struggle that we might come across as we run to the other side to deliver
the word of the Lord. I request that your prayers be unbroken, uninterrupted,
and never-ending. As you pray, remember to specifically stipulate that the word
of the Lord would usher in a triumphant and glorious new day in the lives of
those who hear it, as it has done among you."
So now you have an idea of how to pray for missionaries, preachers, or people
who are ministering the Word and planting churches in new, unreached regions -
the difficult front lines where the Word has never or rarely been preached.
Here is a wrap-up of Paul's prayer request for you to use as you pray for
people you know who are working in difficult parts of the world:
Pray for the missionaries and preachers themselves.
Pray for the things that concern them, i.e., their families, their finances,
their health, etc.
Pray for the Lord's message to spread without hindrance from hostile forces.
Pray for the missionaries and preachers to win the race for souls.
Pray for them to be protected as they dash through enemy territory.
Pray constantly, around the clock, for those who are laboring on the front
lines!
Now that you know how the apostle Paul wanted people to pray for him, you can
use this as a guide to pray for missionaries and preachers in other parts of
the world. Why don't you take a few minutes to start praying for them today?
Lord, I ask You today to bless missionaries who are living and working in other
parts of the world. Bless their families, their health, their finances, and
everything that concerns them. Help them preach with little or no resistance.
Empower them to run fiercely as they race to reach souls from being eternally
lost. Protect them as they live, work, and dash back and forth through
dangerous territory. I pray that the entrance of God's Word in their
communities will break the powers of darkness and usher in a new triumphant
day! Help me to remember to pray for them every day!
I pray this in Jesus' name!
I confess that I love missionaries and support them with my prayers and
finances. I appreciate them for leaving their homes, their families, and their
natural surroundings, and for uprooting their wives and children and moving to
the other side of the world to take the Good News to those who do not have it.
I will be faithful to remember them, to honor them, to pray for them, and to
support them with my substance. The role I play to support them in prayer and
with my finances is essential for their success, so I will fulfill my role
faithfully!
I declare this by faith in Jesus' name!
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