v 23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Right at the end of this letter Paul prays for those who will be reading it, and it is a prayer for character formation rather than detailed needs. It covers the whole person, and extends right through time until time itself ends with the coming again of Jesus. The single request is for holiness in the whole character, in every aspect of a person’s life imaginable.
When we pray for individuals, whether family, friends, other Church members, or even neighbours, we sometimes reach the end of knowing what to ask God about. This brief prayer gives us a clue as to the direction in which to pray. Your prayer could be like this:
Heavenly Father, I want to pray for [ ]. Whatever life holds for her/him today, please enable her/him to make wise choices that will result in holy living, so that in wholeness of character she/he will be ready for the appearing of Jesus when He comes again. AMEN.
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