In case you may have missed picking up a study guide last Sunday for this Sunday’s 9:30 equipping hour on prayer, here it is!

Chapter Five – A Passion for People (1 Thessalonians 3:9-13)

1. What does Carson say makes this particular prayer of Paul a serviceable model for what it means to pray for others?
2. What biblical evidence does the author cite for his conviction that Paul’s ministry was first and foremost designed to serve the people of God and what relationship does this have to Paul’s prayers for his readers? For whom has God given you such a passion?
3. What is the difference between the two questions, How can I be most useful?, and How can I feel most useful? Where does Carson draw his point from the biblical text? What is the relationship of this principal to praying for others?
4. What does Carson conclude about Paul’s praying from 1 Thess. 3:6-8? What conclusion does he draw about our praying at the close of this section?
5. What are the four themes that reveal Paul’s continuing passion for others in 1 Thess. 3:9-13?
6. How does Carson further develop our understanding of Paul’s lush thankfulness?
7. What three details does Carson bring out in the second theme?
8. Why is the third theme so very important in our praying?
9. What is it about the fourth theme that connects it to the first chapter of Carson’s book?
10. What prayer for others is most fundamental and why?
11. What changes will you make in your praying in light of this chapter?