Praying With Paul

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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God's Will: Perfect Love

Passage

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Prayer

Dear Father, perfecter of our love, Don't ever let us disregard you or your Holy Spirit, which you give us. Give us perfect love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let this teaching of yours fill our minds. Let this love among us grow more and more, every day and in every way. May we aspire to live quietly, to mind our own affairs, and to work with our hands or our minds, so that we may be dependent on no one and command the respect of those outside your family. May that respect lead them to listen, to heed, and also to become your children. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.

[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Enemies into Friends

Passage

1 Timothy 1:16-17

Prayer

Dear Father, king of the ages,Thank you for the cleansing of our sins through Christ. Thank you that you take people who are in outright opposition to your will, as was Saul of Tarsus, and hundreds since him, and bring them up short, rebuke their disobedience, and then enlist them in your own army. Praise you, God, for making friends of your former enemies. All glory to you for the demonstration of patience made perfect. Now to you, King of the Ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be glory and honor for ever and ever. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Fit for Service

Passage

1 Timothy 1:12-15

Prayer

Dear Father, Thank you for the strength that you give us to minister to others. We bless you for judging us faithful and for committing talents to us by which we may help others. In spite of our offenses against you, you show great mercy in overlooking our ignorance and unbelief and by now giving us opportunities and encouragement to serve you. You have made the graciousness of our Lord Jesus Christ overflow to us in the faith and the love that are available in him. How sure and worthy of full acceptance is the truth that our Lord Jesus came into the world to save sinners. We were sinners! Thank you for the salvation that you wrought for us through him, in whose name I now pray. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Faith and Good Conscience

Passage

1 Timothy 1:3-11, 18-20

Prayer

Dear Father, Keep us from believing any teaching different from that which your genuine apostles taught about our Lord Jesus Christ. Let what they aimed for arise in our hearts: love that issues from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. Don't let us take a legalistic approach to our life under you. By the law we can see what not to do, by Jesus we see a real direction for our lives. Let us live by him and for him. Help us wage a good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Work and Discipline

Passage

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Prayer

Dear Father, God who worked to create all things, Guide us and empower us to do our work in quietness, to avoid idleness, and to earn our own living. Help us not to grow weary in well-doing. Help us to follow the example of your emissaries, of Paul and the others, who did not seize some economic advantage from their positions, but worked to provide for their own needs. Help us to encourage and enforce a good work ethic among Christians so that we may be highly regarded among all people. Help us to be disciplined among ourselves, to exhort and warn each other, but also to be kind and loving and to treat each other as beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Cause Us to Pray

Passage

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5, 16-18

Prayer

Dear Father, who hears our prayers, May all of your people pray earnestly for each other, and especially for your ministers, that your word may speed on and triumph among others, just as it has among us. Deliver us from wicked and evil people who have no faith in you. Give us deep trust in your faithfulness, that you will strengthen us and guard us from evil. Give us obedient hearts that we may live out the teachings of your word. Direct our hearts to your love and to the steadfastness of Christ. Lord of peace, give peace at all times and in all ways. Be with us! Fill us with the grace of the Lord Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Eternal Comfort

Passage

2 Thessalonians 2:1-17

Prayer

Dear Father, Thank you for calling us to salvation through the Good News of Christ, so that we may obtain the glory of the Lord Jesus. Help us to stand firm and hold fast to the traditions of your holy apostles. May the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and you, our Father, who loved us and gave eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort our hearts and establish them in every good work and word. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Passage

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Prayer

Dear Father, May we learn to be content and not to seek material riches. Let not our craving for riches cause us to wander away from the faith and pierce holes in our own hearts. Help those who have an abundance of this world's goods to not be haughty nor to put their confidence in riches. Help us to set our hearts upon you, the living God, who richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy. Help us all to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal and generous. May we thus lay a foundation for the future, and take hold of the life which is life indeed. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Taking Hold of Eternal Life

Passage

1 Timothy 6:12-15

Prayer

Dear Father, Lord of all lords, Enable me to take hold of the eternal life to which I was called when I made the good confession before many witnesses. Help me keep your commands until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which you will bring about in your own time. O God, the blessed and only ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see - to you be honor and might forever and ever. Amen. In the name of Jesus and to your glory I lift up this prayer. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Godly Gain

Passage

1 Timothy 6:1-10

Prayer

Dear Father, whose truth is gentle, Help us to find a heart to serve you, even in oppressive circumstances. Grant that our religion may not be a ground of conceit. May we not love controversy, but rather avoid wrangling and contention. Help us witness to your truth to others, but let it always be done in a spirit of gentleness and truth-seeking. May none of us be guilty of using anything connected with our faith as a means of worldly gain. Help us to accept the great gain that comes with a godliness combined with contentment. We brought nothing into this world. You show us that we can take nothing out, except for the treasures we lay up in heaven. Help us to be content and not to seek material riches.In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Caring Hearts, Working Hands

Passage

1 Timothy 5:1-22

Prayer

Dear Father, Help me treat everyone in your family appropriately and with great respect: older men like fathers, older women like mothers, younger men as brothers, younger women as sisters. Give us such caring hearts in our immediate families that we will take care of widows, orphans, the sick, and the troubled. Give us such caring hearts in your church that we shall supply whatever is lacking in families. Let us give honor to our elders appropriate to their work, whether respect or material support. In the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Setting a Good Example

Passage

1 Timothy 4:11-16

Prayer

Dear Father, May we never lessen our commitment to you because someone criticizes us. Instead, let us set an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Encourage us to busy ourselves with the reading of Scripture, with preaching and teaching. Help us not to neglect whatever gifts we have from you. Help us use every resource you have given us to serve fruitfully in your kingdom, that we may be saved and that others may come to a saving relationship with your Son Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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The Value of Godliness

Passage

1 Timothy 4:6-10

Prayer

Dear Father, Make us diligent athletes who exercise our spiritual bodies, recognizing that while physical exercise has some profit, godliness is of value in every way, because it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. We have set the hope of our hearts upon you, our Father, the living God, the Savior of all men, most especially of us who have put our trust in you. We do believe in you. Please use our hope and faith as a springboard to our diligent efforts for your kingdom. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
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Faith and Freedom

Passage

1 Timothy 4:1-4; 5:24

Prayer

Dear Father, Keep us from paying attention to seducing spirits or doctrines of demons. Don't let the pretensions of those whose consciences are seared invade our lives. Let us hold that marriage is honorable and not to be forbidden. Let us be free to eat all the foods which you have created as good. Give us thankful hearts for what you have provided, and may we consecrate what we eat by giving thanks. Keep from joining into the sins of others, whether those that are present and conspicuous or those that are hidden and will appear later.In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.
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[nChrist]

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Praying With Paul
by Eldon Degge
____________________

The Central Mystery

Passage

1 Timothy 3:14-16

Prayer

Dear Father, Give us a graciousness by which we shall know how to behave ourselves in your household, the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Help us so dedicate ourselves individually to the truth that the church at large will be a bastion of truth, and will be known by the world to be what it claims to be. Keep our focus of truth always on that central mystery of our religion: That Christ was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and taken up in glory! Nourish us on words of faith and good doctrine. Guide our minds to stay away from silly and godless myths. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.
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