Let Us Pray: Help in Prayer from D.A. Carson’s “Praying with Paul”

Praying can often be challenging in many ways. Simply finding time to pray once throughout the day can be elusive, let alone trying to find and establish a rhythm of prayer. We find our time in prayer comes in fits and starts and often looks random as opposed to regular and rhythmic. Then once we do start praying, we find that our mind tends to wonder to-and-fro to the point that we often can’t even remember what it is we’ve already prayed for or haven’t prayed for yet. What is the remedy? One very helpful and encouraging resource for building a regular rhythm of prayer in one’s life is D.A. Carson’s Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation.

The Introduction and first two chapters alone are a treasure trove of practical and biblical wisdom. First, Carson identifies the immense value of prayer. Then he offers some practical steps to help us start praying and to help us drown out the noise of everyday. And then he offers insight into building a biblical framework that helps guide our prayers. This practical wisdom helps eliminate distractions and the biblical wisdom informs and streamlines our prayers so that we pray in the Spirit, in accord with the heart of God as revealed by Scripture.

 

The Need for Prayer

We will not ever prioritize prayer or ever establish a rhythm of prayer in our lives if we do not recognize the immeasurable value of prayer. Carson notes, “The most urgent need of the church in the Western world is the need to pray.”[1] Carson acknowledges the swath of other areas the church needs to address and be prepared to respond to (Issues like overwhelming biblical illiteracy, cultural moral decay, the sexual revolution, the rise of cultural intolerance for those disagreeing with majority cultural virtues, unreached and unchurched people groups, etc.). However, he maintains “the one thing we most urgently need is a deeper knowledge of God. We need to know God better.”[2] And what is one of the primary ways in which we grow in our intimate knowledge of God? How do we know God better? We pray.

“One of the foundational steps in knowing God, and one of the basic demonstrations that we do know God is prayer—spiritual, persistent, biblically minded prayer.”[3]

So once we recognize its value, then the next natural step is to engage in the practice of prayer itself.

 

Practical Steps for Prayer

I once had a track coach who offered powerful wisdom for improving one’s running ability and speed. He could often be heard saying to us unfit, ailing, frustrated wannabe track stars, “Do you want to know how you become a better, faster runner? You run.” In chapter one, Carson makes much the same point with prayer. If we want to see improvement in our prayer lives, the first step is to pray. Or, to say it another way, we often struggle in prayer because we don’t pray regularly. Carson addresses this point specifically in this way, “Much praying is not done because we do not plan to pray.”[4] He then offers perhaps one of the simplest yet most profound pieces of wisdom with regard to prayer: “It is better to pray often with brevity than rarely but at length.”[5] The first step to improving our prayer life is to pray.

Carson then offers some simply practical steps to help eliminate distractions. Among these are: vocalizing prayers, praying through Scripture, making prayer lists to follow, journaling prayers, having a prayer partner, etc.[6] The takeaway from these suggestions is that there are practical steps we can plan to take along with good and wise practices that help focus our prayer efforts. Some will find different practices to be more beneficial than others. The key is finding what works for you.

 

Developing a Framework for Prayer

In chapter two, Carson urges us to develop a robust framework for our prayers. And as the title of his book suggests, he models this framework off of Paul’s prayers. Specifically, he models it off of Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 1:3–12. There, Carson points out that two elements make up Paul’s framework for his prayer:

  1. Thankfulness for signs of grace in the Thessalonians
  2. Confidence and hope in God’s coming reign at Christ’s return, and the justice it will bring

So, when we pray, we too should recognize the varying signs of grace that God has granted in us and our church family. And we make it a point to thank God for such gifts of grace. Such gifts could be increased faith, increased love, increased knowledge of God, growing maturity, perseverance in trials and suffering, people using their gifts to build up the body, confession and repentance, etc. When we recognize such graces, our instinct should be to thank God for them. As we develop this framework, we will likely find that we become more proficient at recognizing them. We will begin to identify God’s gifts of grace where before we might of looked right past them. So when we pray, we infuse our prayers with thankfulness for signs of divine grace.

And, when we pray, we pray with a view to and longing for the fullness of God’s kingdom that comes with the return of Jesus. We anticipate not just the joy that comes with his presence but also the justice that comes with the consummation of his kingdom. All wrongs will be made right. God will vindicate all his people, and God will exact retribution on all the enemies of him and his people. Saints have always fit their prayers into the reality that God will deliver vindication and justice for his people, whom he knows intimately. Think of David’s prayers to God in the Psalms (cf. Psalm 139, which we have recently memorized as a congregation). Therefore, when we pray, our prayers take on a tincture of hopefulness because Jesus will return. And so in our prayers we raise up this plea to heaven, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

 

Let Us Pray

We must recognize the value and need for prayer. With Carson’s help, we can find ways to plan for prayer and develop practices to eliminate distraction. And with Carson and Paul’s helps, we too can begin to develop and build a framework for our prayers that infuses them with thanksgiving and hope. When we pray, we commune with God, grow in our knowledge of him, thank him for his varied gifts of grace in our lives, and joyfully anticipate Christ’s return when he will right all wrongs. So the only thing left for us to do is to pray. So let us pray.

[1] D. A. Carson, Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Second. (Baker Academic, 2015), xi.

[2] Carson, Praying with Paul, xiii.

[3] Carson, Praying with Paul, xiii.

[4] Carson, Praying with Paul, 1.

[5] Carson, Praying with Paul, 2.

[6] Carson, Praying with Paul, 2–20.

Quenching the Spirit, Despising Prophecies

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20)

How do we quench the Spirit? How do we despise prophecies?

Many answer that question by assuming the Apostle Paul is saying “Do not quench the Spirit or despise prophecies in your worship services.” For the Apostle does warn against that in 1 Corinthians 14.

But the context of 1 Thessalonians is quite different from the context of 1 Corinthians. Paul had to correct several problems with worship services in Corinth, but he says nothing explicit about worship services in Thessalonica. Instead, he focuses throughout the letter on living our entire lives in light of Jesus’ return. Indeed, in chapter 5 he is moving towards the climax in verse 23:

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Thus, we should understand Paul’s exhortations as:  “Do not quench the Holy Spirit in all your life; do not despise prophecies in all your life. In this way be prepared for Jesus’ return.”

There are undoubtedly implications for worship services in these commands. But there is no reason to limit the application to that setting.

To understand Paul’s exhortations we also need to clarify the meaning of prophecy.

Most biblical prophecies are not predictions about the future. Rather, prophecies are words of God spoken or written by men through the Holy Spirit. By that definition, all Scripture is prophecy.

We see this through 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:19-21:

All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Peter explains how these God-breathed words become written:

We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention [note that Peter is referring to a description of the transfiguration recorded in the Gospels] …  knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (emphasis added)

So all Scripture is prophecy and all Scripture results from the work of the Holy Spirit.

Furthermore, all that Paul taught the Thessalonians – whether in person, or via a letter – is prophecy:

Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. (1 Thessalonians 1:5, emphasis added)

Furthermore, some of what Paul said prophetically was a direct exposition of the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel accounts. For as argued in the January 9th sermon, in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Paul declares to his readers “by a word from the Lord” what Jesus says in Matthew 24.

So prophecy includes all of Scripture as well as all teaching and preaching and counseling of the truths of Scripture.

How then are we tempted to quench the Holy Spirit and to despise prophecies in our lives? What is Paul warning us against?

We can despise prophecy, quenching the Holy Spirit, in at least three ways:

1) Not listening to the prophetic Word in a worship service.

The word simply goes in one ear and then out the other. We are distracted. We think of what we will do in the afternoon, or focus on the cute baby sitting in front of us, or correct the speaker’s grammar or pronunciation.

2) Listening and agreeing to the prophetic Word, and then living as if we never heard it.

We may even call out, “Amen!” We may congratulate the speaker on a wonderful exposition. But if we do not live out those truths, we have despised prophecy and quenched the Spirit.

3) Similarly, reading or hearing biblical truths outside of worship services, and then failing to live out those truths.

A friend may provide us with biblical counsel, which we ignore. Or we may read the Word at 6am – and then by 7am completely forget what we read.

These are all ways we despise prophecy and quench the work of the Holy Spirit through His Word.

What then is the opposite of despising prophesy and quenching the Spirit?

Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

When we are Bible-saturated, when the Word permeates all we do, when the Holy Spirit takes that prophetic Word and teaches us, corrects us, reproves us, and trains us in righteousness, sanctifying us completely, setting us apart for God and using us to advance His purposes – then we avoid despising prophecy and quenching the Spirit.

Thus this passage has little to do with whether or not someone should stand up in a worship service and give a spontaneous word from God. Whether or not such activities occur in our worship services, we are all tempted to quench the Spirit and despise prophecies in these three ways.

So the Apostle’s point here is broader than his point in 1 Corinthians 14. Indeed, his point here is foundational. He says, “As you live in these last days, live by the Spirit-inspired Word. Walk by the Spirit as He leads you by God’s Word. The Word must dwell in you richly as the Spirit opens up the Word, bringing to mind what you have read, enabling you to apply what you know. That is the only way to become what God intends you to be, the only way to be the church, to be salt and light, to be His ambassadors to this fallen, sinful, hurting world.”

May we all live by God’s Word by the Spirit’s power day by day, hour by hour. May we remember what God has revealed, and may that Word dwell richly in us. May we pray that the Holy Spirit would enable us to apply that Word to our thoughts, attitudes, and desires, and so may we be transformed by the renewal of our minds.

In this way may we be ready for our Lord’s return, holding fast the prophetic word and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.

[This devotion is based on part of the 2/20/22 sermon. The video of that service is available at this link; the audio of the sermon will be available at this link shortly.]

 

What Do We Need to Know about End Times and Why Do We Need to Know It?

What do we need to know about end times and why do we need to know it?

Revelation speaks of end times more than any other book of the Bible. There’s an interesting promise at the beginning of that book:

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3)

The last chapter repeats the promise: Jesus is speaking:

“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Revelation 22:7)

Who receives the blessing? Who will be blessed by reading, hearing, and keeping what is written in book of Revelation?

  • EVERYONE who reads, hears, and keeps these words,
  • EVERYONE in the first century, when the book was written,
  • EVERYONE during the Middle Ages,
  • EVERYONE at the time of Luther and Calvin,
  • EVERYONE today:
  • EVERYONE who reads hears and keeps these words IN WHATEVER CENTURY.

That implies: These teachings are helpful to all believers in Jesus of all times. Furthermore: that means that the book of Revelation specifically and biblical teaching on end times in general are not primarily concerned to give a timetable of future events. For how would a believer in 100AD be blessed by a timetable of events more than 2000 years in the future? Indeed, how could any reader of the book keep the words of the prophecy if they were primarily giving a timetable?

Instead: Biblical teaching on end times is given so that today we might live to God’s glory, rejoicing in Him, whatever our circumstances.

With that in mind, consider 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2. Paul has just explained that when Jesus returns, all believers from all time will be with Him forever, in new bodies. Then he writes:

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Paul says they need read no more about times and seasons. Why? For they already know what they need to know. They already are aware that Jesus will return unexpectedly. Jesus had said, “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven” (Matthew 24:36). Paul had evidently taught them that in his short time in Thessalonica.

And yet, despite that clear statement of our Lord, despite Paul’s statement in 1 Thessalonians 5:1, many Christian teachers have declared over the years, “Jesus will return on such and such a date.” Why? Because we’re curious. We want to know what God has not revealed to us. And friends, God is under no obligation to satisfy our curiosity.

He does not tell us when Jesus will return. Any person who says he or she knows that date is either a liar or is self-deceived.

Now: in Matthew 24 and elsewhere, Jesus does speak of precursors, signs that indicate the end is near. We are to pay attention. But these are generic enough that all Christians over the centuries have been able to see at least some of them in events during their day. Thus they serve to keep all believers of all time ready for His return.

So today we want to examine 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, asking the question the question above: What do we need to know about end times and why do we need to know it?

Our outline is simple:

  • What do we need to know?
  • Why do we need to know it?
  • What do we NOT need to know?
  • Humility With Firm Convictions

What do we need to know?

In the two previous sermons on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, we’ve seen that Paul makes several rather simple points about end times. Let’s highlight four of them – four truths that Paul must think are important for us to know.

1) Jesus will return.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

2) All those in Christ, from all times, will be with Jesus forever.

And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16b-17)

3) The time of Jesus’ return is unknown; it will be sudden.

4) Jesus’ opponents will be destroyed

The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:2b-3)

It’s not complicated. We can summarize Paul’s teaching in this passage on end times succinctly:

At an unknown future time, Jesus will return suddenly. He will raise the dead in Christ and gather them to Himself together with all living believers, and they will be with Him for all eternity. At the same time, He will overwhelm and destroy all who continue to rebel against Him.

You need to know at least those four truths. Why? Because each of those truths has an impact on you today.

Why do we need to know it?

These truths help us today in at least three ways. We learn the first from other passages; we can see the second and third in today’s text.

1) To warn those who are self-deceived about salvation

Consider these three passages:

Jesus dictates to the church in Sardis:

“You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. … Wake up!… If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. (From Revelation 3:1,3)

Hebrews 10:26-27:

“If we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire
that will consume the adversaries.

Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Judgment is coming – and those who are part of the visible church, thinking they are saved when they are not, are in the most dangerous position of all. For they hear the call to repent and think, “That doesn’t apply to me!”

This truth about the final condemnation of professed believers serves today to warn us, to cause us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. And that is a blessing today.

Now, understand: The point is not: “All professed Christians, fear judgment! Every time you sin, doubt your salvation!” The point is rather: Believe in the Lord Jesus! And keep believing in Him! See Him as Savior, Master, and Treasure! Repent when you sin! Delight in Him more than in all world has to offer! Seek to know Him, to love Him, to serve Him, to enjoy Him! Then you can look to His return with eager expectation, rather than with a fear of impending judgment.

That’s the first reason we need to know these truths.

2) So that today we might be sober

Recall from last week that 1 Thessalonians 5 speaks twice of being sober:

  • So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. (1 Thessalonians 5:6)
  • But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

Last week we emphasized that we are sober when we think clearly about the truths God teaches us in His Word. To be sober is to have our minds shaped and renewed by His Word so that we see the world as it really is rather than as it appears.

What do we need to think clearly about?

At least four big questions:

a) Who is God?

He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is Creator of all. He is the sovereign ruler of all. He is working all things together for the glory of his Name and the good of His people. He is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, but He will by no means clear the guilty.

b) Who is man?

Made in God’s image. The pinnacle of His creation. But we are fallen, sinful, and rebellious. God the Son, however, took on flesh, and lived the life we should have lived. He died as a sacrifice, paying the penalty for our sins. If we believe in Him, the benefits of that death accrue to us: we are God’s beloved children, precious in His sight, forgiven, accepted, and redeemed.

c) What about unredeemed mankind?

Many among the unredeemed will attack God’s people, threatening them, persecuting them, mocking them, even killing them. Yet God will open the eyes of some of them, bringing them to Himself (as He did with the Apostle Paul). The rest of the unredeemed will face sudden destruction and eternal punishment. So don’t fear them. They have no power against God.

d) What about the topics that dominate most men’s thoughts?

Consider politics, accomplishments, technology, entertainment, money, and possessions. Realize that all will be destroyed. Only what is done for God’s glory will last.

We must think clearly about those big questions. Biblical teaching on end times is vital in this regard. For the truths that we need to know about end times teach us:

  • That God is indeed king now and forever
  • That His opponents who look so powerful have no ultimate power
  • That His people who look so weak are strong in Him
  • That He fulfills every promise, every purpose.

So: Why do we need to know these truths about end times? First, those who are self-deceived about salvation can be warned. Second, so that we think soberly about these big questions. Third:

3) So that we can live rightly today

Scripture highlights both right thinking and right acting. This basic teaching on end times helps with both.

Today, when we all have email and cell phones, it’s hard to imagine knowing someone will return, but not knowing when. If a loved one is to be an hour or two late, we expect to be informed.

But try to put yourself back a couple of hundred years. Imagine your husband or father must leave home. He’s not sure how long the journey will take. He may be gone only weeks, but it could drag on to years. Yet he promises: “I will return. Expect me. Have confidence in me. Trust me. Be ready for me.”

Night after night. Month after month. Year after year, you look. Every day you are prepared. Ready. Expectant.

When one day leads to another and he does not return, you are tempted to discouragement, tempted to give up hope. But you persevere, remembering his promise: “I will return.”

Then one day – a day that seems like all the others – the door opens: There he is! You run to him, embrace him, hug him, kiss him! He has come – just as he said.

These basic teachings about end times are like that husband’s promise. They help us persevere in hope today so that right now we can live in light of his return.

Our passage highlights three aspects of right living:

a) As our story emphasizes, we are to be ready for Jesus’s return every day (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

b) We are to live today for Him

Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:8-9)

He has destined or appointed us to obtain salvation. That’s the purpose of our existence – to glorify Him. He has given us, He has dressed us with, the breastplate of saving faith and effective love as well as the helmet of the hope of salvation. Fitted out with such faith, hope, and love, He has destined us for joy with Him. So live like that today! Your life is about Jesus! You have no good from Jesus! So live for Him.

c) Live with Him today

[The Lord Jesus] died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:10, emphasis added)

The basic truths about end times tell us we will live with Him for all eternity. So begin eternity now! Live that out now! He is with you today. His Spirit indwells you. So glorify and enjoy forever the God who is with you.

What do we NOT need to know

Go back to 1 Thessalonians 5:1:

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware [and then Paul reminds them of these basic truths] (emphasis added)

Neither Paul nor Jesus nor John nor Daniel sets out clearly the exact order of events in the last days spoken of in these different passages. Neither Paul nor Jesus nor John nor Daniel sets out clearly the details of those last days or the details of what the new heavens and new earth will be like.

Why?

Because we only need to know what will help us live to God’s glory today.

As stated earlier: God doesn’t care about satisfying our curiosity. He cares about glorifying Himself through His people. He cares about conforming us to the image of Jesus. He cares about our joy in Him

So we can have attitude of David in Psalm 131:

O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Meditate on what He has clearly revealed. Trust Him to fulfill those clear promises. Live today for Him and with Him. Your following Him does not depend on your discovering what He has not clearly revealed.

Humility With Firm Convictions

Before concluding, let me address a wider, related question: How do we teach and lead on controversial topics, those that Bible-believing Christians disagree on?

My point is not: “Only teach and emphasize what all Bible-believing Christians agree on.” For we disagree on some vitally important matters.

We should have convictions, as Paul says when speaking of such disagreements:

Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. (Romans 14:5)

I have no problem with those who convictions about end times teaching go well beyond the basic outline we emphasized today.

But we all must have humility, so that we give grace to one another, so that we are able to listen to one another, to test what each is saying.

Let me make a confession – I am not perfect! Maybe some of you have noticed that! I am not Jesus, so I am not perfect. Thus, I know some of my theology is wrong – I just don’t know what. If I did, I would change it.

So it is right to have strong convictions and to listen – to my fellow elders, to you all, to others today, to other teachers across the centuries.

If I’m teaching on a topic which is in dispute, I must test my interpretation to see if it is idiosyncratic. If so, I need to check it more thoroughly by seeing how it meshes with the context of the passage and with the entire storyline of Scripture. I need to interact with other interpreters who come to different conclusions.

If after that checking I’m still convinced my unusual interpretation is correct, how should I preach? As if anyone who disagrees is a heretic? No. I may well say something like, “I’ve become convinced this passage is saying X. Consider if that might be helpful for you.”

On this morning’s controversial topic: In my opinion, it is an error to require all members of a church or even all elders to agree on a particular interpretation of the timing and order of events. For such details are not the main point of any biblical passage that teaches on eschatology, and the application of those passages to our lives today do not depend on one interpretation on those issues. Indeed, to focus on timing and order distracts from main application point of those passages.

So, yes, study the Scriptures and have firm convictions. And be humble, recognizing that some of your firm convictions are wrong.

Conclusion

Peter tells us that God has granted us “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3) – that is: everything we need to live today to His glory, everything we need to be redeemed, to be incorporated into His body, His church – everything we need to rejoice in Him always, to depend on Him, to serve Him, to be His ambassadors.

But He has not granted us everything that will satisfy our curiosity.

He assures us: Jesus will return. All in Jesus from all centuries will be raised with Him forever. He will return suddenly, without warning. He will destroy His enemies.

  • Focus on those truths.
  • Live today in light of those truths
  • Trust Him today to return at exactly the right time

All that happens today is preparatory, one further step along the road that leads to the new heavens and new earth, one further advance toward Jesus’ return.

He is coming back.

Are you ready – today?

[This sermon was preached 2/13/22. The audio is available at this link.]

Runners, To Your Marks; Get Set; Go!

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13

Think about this verse as a daily exercise: Every day, begin by preparing your minds for action. Then throughout the day, be completely sober-minded. This enables you, thirdly, to set your hope fully on the future grace we will receive when Jesus returns.

Before we elaborate on each step, think over this analogy:

Consider each day of living the Christian life as a 400 meter run. Prior to being called to the start, you need to make sure you’re dressed in running clothes. Your shoes must be tied. Your spikes must be tightened. Then, crouched in the blocks before the race starts, you must prepare your mind for action: You have to get ready to make an extreme effort. You must put aside all other thoughts, all distractions. You must focus on the starter, ready to explode as soon as the gun sounds.

Then, throughout the race, you must be “sober-minded.” That is, you must maintain your focus on running well, even as your body screams out that the sprint is too painful. You must relax your shoulders and your jaw, while maintaining your knee lift and efficient form.

Finally, you set your hope on the coming, certain end. The race will seem interminable. The finish line may appear to recede instead of drawing closer. Your legs may feel like lead. But the end is certain. The race will end, and its end will be glorious.

Prepare Your Mind for Action

The King James Version translates this phrase literally, “Gird up the loins of your minds.” In Peter’s day, men normally wore robes or tunics that draped down to their ankles. Imagine trying to run in such clothing! So any time a man had to move quickly, or to engage in difficult labor, he would tie up the robe around his waist. In this way he prepared himself for action.

Similar ideas occur several times in the Old Testament. For example, God tells the Israelites to eat the Passover “with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand” (Exodus 12:11). They are to be ready to move the minute God gives the command.

How do we fulfill this on a day to day basis? How do we prepare ourselves, so we are ready for whatever action God has in store for us?

  • We must remind ourselves of the truths of the Gospel, of the promises of God, of His character, of the work of Jesus Christ, of the Holy Spirit’s presence.
  • We must reflect on how we failed in the fight of faith yesterday, and determine how to depend on God to fight that fight today.
  • We must pray for ourselves, and pray for others, confident that brothers and sisters are praying for us.
  • We must go to the Word, seeking the Spirit’s insight and encouragement, picking out what we will meditate, learn from, and put into practice this day.

Be Completely Sober-Minded

Having been prepared, we must run today’s race. We must maintain a constant vigilance against the distractions that come our way continually.

Satan sometimes tempts us directly to doubt God’s goodness, to doubt His power, and to doubt our status before Him.  Other times he instead tries to distract us from the task, encouraging us to think of other aspects of life – our jobs, our families, our health, our safety, our entertainment, our education – as more important, more vital, more urgent than Jesus and His Kingdom. One way or another, he tries to envelope us in a fog on unbelief, in which the truths of God seem unreal, immaterial, and unimportant. In that fog, we effectively are drunk, not sober; we’re not thinking clearly about Who God is; we’re not trusting His revelation of the nature of Reality.

So we must maintain our sobriety. We must be completely sober-minded.

Set Your Hope Fully on the Grace That Will Be Brought to You at the Revelation of Jesus Christ

Note that Peter tells us to set our hope on future grace. God has given us great grace already if we are in Christ. We are to reflect on that in preparing our minds for action, and hold on firmly to that truth by being sober-minded. But we are to set our hope fully on the future grace that will be ours when Jesus returns, when the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15).

What grace will we receive in that day? Peter has already mentioned some aspects of this grace:

  • 1 Peter 1:4: An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, protected in heaven for us
  • 1 Peter 1:5: The completion of our salvation, which is ready for us, and will be revealed to us in the last time.

From other Scriptures we know: We will know fully, even as we are fully known. We will see Him face to face. He will rejoice over us with loud singing. He will wipe every tear from our eyes. We will receive incorruptible, sinless, eternal bodies. The entire creation will be made new. There will be no more sin, no more sorrow, no more pain. God Himself will be our light.

The glory of the finish line helps the 400 meter runner to endure. Just so, the glories of Jesus’ return help us. But Peter hints that we have another reason to hope in the midst of trials.

Literally, Peter says, “Set your hope fully on the grace that is being brought to you.” That is, the participle Peter uses is in the present tense, not the future. What’s the difference, since Jesus’ return is obviously future?

Had the tense been future, Peter’s emphasis would have been solely on the grace that will be ours on that great day. By using the present tense, Peter emphasizes, in addition, that right now all you experience is bringing about the culmination of God’s Plan. All your pain, all your sorrow, all your difficulties and trials work to bring about this coming grace, this return of Jesus – and with Him, your inheritance of all things.

This is our hope. Day by day, throughout every day, remind yourself: Right now, God is working through all that happens to bring about that Final Day, with its great outpouring of grace.

The Foundation for Peter’s Commands

Consider finally some of the exhortations and commands Peter gives in the remainder of this letter. All are grounded in 1 Peter 1:13:

  • Be holy in all your conduct
  • Abstain from the passions of the flesh, which includes putting away all malice and deceit and hypocrisy and envy and slander
  • Long for the spiritual milk of the Word
  • Love one another earnestly, having unity of mind
  • Be subject to authority: everyone to governments, wives to husbands, servants to masters, the younger to elders
  • Husbands, live with your wives in an understanding manner
  • Elders, shepherd the flock eagerly, willingly, setting an example
  • Proclaim the excellencies of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light
  • Be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you
  • In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy
  • Live for the will of God
  • Show hospitality without grumbling
  • Use your gifts to serve one another to God’s glory
  • Rejoice as you share Christ’s sufferings
  • Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another
  • Cast your anxieties on God
  • Resist the devil

So, my friends, today and every day: Prepare your minds for action! Gird up that long robe! Get ready to run! Listen for His command! Be like the Israelites at Passover, all ready to head out at God’s command.

Keep being sober minded. Prepare your minds so that you can avoid the fog of unbelief and maintain your focus.

Hold to the solid hope that even now God is working all things together to bring about that Final Day, when every tribe and tongue will praise the Name of Jesus, when He will wipe all tears from our eyes, when we will see Him face to face.

So: Runners, to your marks. Get set. Go!