The First Letter of St. Paul
to the Thessalonians
Chapter 4
¹ Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 4 verse 1)
Oh God, my blessed Father I pray that You continue to show me how to live according to Your ways, and to give me the power to conquer my sinful self and have control over my mind so that I can do what You ask of me instead of the demands that my body makes on me Amen.
² For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 4 verse 2)
Oh God my blessed Father, the instructions that St. Paul gave the Thessalonians were to live every word found in the Bible, to love You and others. These are the instructions that as a human are the basis of my life. I pray for strength love and faith in order to continue following these instructions for at times I am weak in following them. Amen.
³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that you abstain from fornication; ⁴ that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, ⁵ not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶ that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 4 verses 3 to 6)
Oh God my blessed Father I thank You for this evening's meditation, I thank You for this body that You have given me and for the gift of being healthy. I pray that You continue helping me in the preservation of this body because by means of it I can serve You with my mind body and soul Amen.
⁷ For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 4 verse 7)
Oh God my Father since You created us according to Your Holy nature which is pure and sinless, it is our natural sinful nature and the drives of the body that compels us to sin in the flesh. I pray that You give us the gift of self-control in order to harness and take control over these negative drives such as lust. Amen.
⁸ Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 4 verse 8)
Oh God my Father in heaven and on earth, I am open to Your Holy Spirit. I do not pray for riches even though I will soon have 73000 euro loan on my back, but for the presence of Your Holy Spirit. I thirst for Your ongoing presence my God and Father Amen.
⁹ Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; ¹⁰ and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, beloved to do so more and more, ¹¹ to aspire to live quietly to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, ¹² so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 4 verses 9 to 12)
Oh God my Father let us all obey the rule of love and not only the rule of law. May love come natural to us both towards ourselves and more to those who cause us harm and grievances. I am aware that as a human this may sound challenging, however with the power of Your Holy Spirit I have faith that I can overcome this challenge Amen.
¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 4 verse 13)
Oh God my Father, You are such a positive Father, so much that You would like us to experience Your goodness and positivity and not death and negativity, so that our hope and trust in You will continue flourishing in our souls Amen. You want us to keep on going even though at times we experience the ups and downs of life Amen.
¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 4 verse 14)
Oh God my beloved Father as You have taught us, our belief in You does not end at the point of death but it is everlasting. At the point of death and even after we are still in the good hands of God our Father who will always be with us Amen..
¹⁵ For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 4 verses 15 to 16)
Oh God my Father, You promised us that those of us who live in You will also die in You and will also be resurrected in You. I pray that I am accounted as one of such many people, who in my limitations as a sinner always did my best to live according to Your ways. I pray that I live, for You and with You and do nothing that is not according to You Amen.
¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.
(The First Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Chapter 4 verses 15 to 16)
Oh God my Father there is no news like God's News. My aim is to share this news where ever You permit me to do so Amen.
Oh God my beloved Father I would like end this reflection and prayer on the fourth chapter of the letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians with the following prayer:
Oh Holy God and Father, blessed be Your Holy Name, I pray on You that I live according to Your will. Bless the world, with the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, that we will all be led by one Spirit of Love, Joy, Compassion and understanding. May we always be alive in You, and You in us Amen
