Please turn with me and your copy of the scriptures to that last chapter in 1 Thessalonians. Maybe some of you recall that what happened in Thessalonica is recorded for us in the book of Acts. Luke, after he wrote his gospel, also wrote the book of Acts, which declares the work of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God has come, and of course Luke explains how the church grew in various different places. And in Acts chapter 17, it explains how the apostle Paul was there in the city of Thessalonica around the year 49 AD. He and Silas traveled from Philippi, where you'll recall they were preaching the gospel, and they were arrested. They were beaten severely for it. And eventually, they were able to escape or release, depending on how you want to look at it. and eventually they end up in Thessalonica, a major Greek city. And there, in Thessalonica, Paul and his team spent three consecutive Sabbaths, because that's what Paul would do. He would enter a city and he would preach the gospel at the synagogue because he was a Jewish man and he wanted to relay to the Jewish community the Messiah has come, the Messiah is Jesus Christ. So he would go to both Jews and Greeks, but on Saturdays, the Sabbath, he would preach in the synagogue. And for three consecutive Sabbaths, he preached and shared the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, you'll recall that the Apostle Paul was a very highly trained scholarly Pharisee. And the Pharisee was the most religious, conservative group among the Jewish people. And Pharisees were known for being very strict in how they obeyed the Old Testament law and the Jewish customs. And so it's no surprise that when the Apostle Paul showed up and showed his credentials, that he would be welcomed into the synagogue and allowed to speak and address the congregation. I would imagine that many were surprised when they heard him speak about Jesus Christ. And they listened. Again and again, and churches were planted in various places. Paul took three missionary journeys doing just this, planting churches. And people believed, but not everybody believed. This, of course, this time was Paul's second missionary journey. He and Silas had reasoned through the scriptures with various congregations in various places, and as a result they suffered a great deal because, as I said, not everybody welcomed them, not everybody was happy about the gospel. There was a mixed response, and in Philippi it was extremely mixed. Eventually they They had to move on. They cannot stay there any longer. The scriptures tell us that whereas there were those who did believe, there was also a significant group of people who were jealous, and they stirred up trouble. Jealous of what? Well, you know, there's a national pride that goes with their faith. There's a national pride that goes with their customs. There's a particular pride, and people say, look at all those who follow me. And now the apostle Paul comes, and they're following him, and they became jealous. And they started up a riotous mob who sought to kill both Paul and Silas. This is not only in one place. This was, well, nearly routine. It happened on various occasions. And depending on how you read the Book of Acts, it looks like Timothy was there as well. When he got to Thessalonica, he preached for three weeks and then had to leave because of this riotous mob. So he did not spend a lot of time teaching and leading the congregation there. And so when the Apostle Paul says, as we've read in this letter, remember how I told you? He is referring to just those three weeks, three weeks of teaching. That's all they had. Now, it wasn't a one-hour service, an hour and 20-minute service. We're talking here, people were enthused and eager to hear more. And so I could imagine the long hours, the long hours in which Paul was just teaching them the word of God. In fact, in one case, there was a young man by the name of Eutychus who sat on a windowsill while Paul was preaching, and the text says he was going on and on. And poor Eutychus, what happened to him? He fell out the window. And he died. I'm glad some of you don't sit at the window. If you do, I would recommend you sit on my left rather than the right. But God, in his miraculous ability, raised Eutychus back to life. And what a testimony that was, establishing then that the Apostle Paul was indeed speaking the truth. That was not in Thessalonica. In Thessalonica, Paul was there three weeks, and then he moved on. And so he writes this letter here, 1 Thessalonians, about a year or two later. So we're talking here maybe the year 49 or maybe 50 AD. We can't be exactly sure, but that's what it appears to be. He writes this letter to the church in Thessalonica, and we call it 1 Thessalonians. A year later, he will write 2 Thessalonians. Now keep in mind that as all this is happening, as Paul is writing all this, we're talking here maybe 20 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. Two decades after Christ resurrected. And so the work, the death and resurrection of Christ is still fresh on the minds and hearts of many people within those communities, within those nations. It's not like today where there's so much information we forget what happened yesterday. Have you ever felt that way? We are so clobbered with so much information, so much news, we forget even what happened. My wife was just reminding me of a thing or two that happened just two years ago, and I said, wow, I forgot all about that. And it was actually a major event in our home, and I forgot all about it. Because there's so much information coming our way. In those days, it was not so. We did not have cable TV. We did not have newspapers. We did not have 24-7. news coming our way. And so you could imagine that the story of Christ was still very new to many of these people who had heard 20 years earlier. And now, of course, there are those who are hearing it for the first time and they are coming to Christ. And the church in that major city is established. And now Paul is writing to them, having sent Timothy over to see how things are going. Timothy comes back and gives them a report, and the result is this letter here. And last week we took a brief review of all that is in this letter, all that Paul instructed to this church. And if you have not re-read 1 Thessalonians, I encourage you to do just that. What we see here in these last few verses, beginning at verse 25, It's just four verses there ending the book. We see a request, we see a greeting, a command, and a blessing. And that's what we're going to look at this morning, those four points. Four essentials for the church as the Apostle Paul closes out his letter. Four essentials. And the first one again is a request. Look at verse 25. The Apostle Paul writes, brothers, pray for us. Brothers, pray for us. The Apostle is asking that what he required of the Church, remember just a few verses earlier, he says pray without ceasing. Pray without ceasing. Now he's saying, don't forget to pray for us as well while you're continuously praying. While you pray often, Don't forget, reciprocate the fact that we've been praying for you. Now pray for us. Who? For Paul, Timothy, and Silas, and whoever else could have been a part of that team. In fact, you'll recall that Paul spent quite a bit of time praying for the church there in Thessalonica. If you look at chapter one, verse two, he says, we always thank God for all of you. Always thank God. In other words, it's very frequent praying. We always thank God for all of you. remembering you in our prayers. Look at the next verse. For we remember before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. We remember before our Lord our God. In other words, they're praying for this church. It's ongoing. If you go over to the next letter, chapter 1, verse 11, Paul writes this. To this end, we always pray for you. I think we understand that prayer is important. I think it's a mental understanding. I don't know that we understand how practical it is as well. Why do I say that? Because of all the Christian disciplines, prayer is probably the one you struggle with most. Not because I've asked you. Do I know that? But I think that seems to be true of nearly every Christian I meet. That prayer is the greatest challenge of all. Paul said, pray without ceasing, but in that process, include us in your prayers. We need your prayers. Paul knew how much he depended on the prayers of God's people in order to get the work done. And notice he addresses them as brethren, as brothers. And when he says brothers, he means brothers and sisters, correct? It's a very familial expression. I remember some years ago, our missionary Gary Camley, he's now retired, But Gary served, he was from Texas, and he served, along with his wife, in Portugal, in Portugal for 20-something years. And when he was there for, I think it was about 18 years, he came by, he was visiting, we were just chatting, and he says, guess what happened to me in Portugal? I said, what? He was very excited. He said, somebody called me Puh. I said, you're kidding me. He said, that's right, somebody called me Puh. And you're wondering, why in the world is he excited about being called Pa? Because in Portugal, when somebody calls you Pa, it means now you're in. It means now you are included. Now you are a friend. Now you are one of us. And so they would say, how are you, Pa? How are you, my friend? Up until then, it was not Pa. Como vai, Pa, they would say. And now he was so excited, because he was going back to Portugal. And he said, now I know I belong there. I knew God wanted me there, but now they want me there, too. And he had a very successful time there, ministry, in Lisbon, Portugal. Here, Paul very affectionately calls them, if you will, pa. Brothers. Brothers. Because There exists now a unity between the apostle and his team and these Christians in this major city. It was a unity that comes to them because of God's saving grace. A unity that's very unlike the United Nations. You would think the United Nations was united. Not really. What we have there in New York at the United Nations is a union. They have come together, but we do not have a unity. There is no real bond. Why is that? That's because the United Nations comes to the table with various convictions, various ideas, everyone looking out for themselves. So there's really no unity. Paul is referring here to a true unity that exists between him and this church. They're not just coming together. a union, but a unity that functions as a unit. Big difference. He's speaking here to those who have come to a saving knowledge of Christ. So he says brothers. And that means that some are included and some are excluded. Brothers. Included are those who are chosen and loved by the Lord unto salvation. It's similar to what we just read out of John chapter 17, I think it was verse 9, and Jesus Christ said, I pray for those that you have given me, not for everyone in the world, but simply for those who you have given me, those who are saved. Here Paul is speaking about those who belong to Christ, who have placed their faith in Christ, those who Ephesians chapter 1 beginning at 4 describes as this. This is the first chapter in Ephesians. Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him, in love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved, of course, Jesus Christ. This is whom Paul is making this request of, pray for us. This would exclude those who are really not brothers, sisters, those who stand outside of God's saving word. Maybe they are religious cousins, maybe they are fixed faces of the church, but they have never placed their faith in Christ. They have never repented of their sins and placed their faith in Jesus Christ. They've never received the Lord as Lord and Savior. And so Paul is not making this request of them. He's speaking to the brothers, the true brothers. And the request is very simple. Pray on our behalf. This is possibly the most humble and vulnerable thing you can say to anyone. Pray for me. pray for me. It admits an inability to effectuate any change when change needs to occur. It admits that in order for me to succeed I need God to intervene and rescue me. Now this is the Apostle Paul speaking, right? Here is the man who did great things for God. This is the exceptional man, at least from our perspective. The man who did wondrous and great things for the kingdom of God, look at what he is saying. He is saying, I need for you to pray for me. In fact, you'll recall, just a few verses above, Paul gives an exceptional example of what our prayers should be like. They should be specific, they should be personal, they should be theological, they should be hope-filled. And now he says, please pray for me. Pray for me. They knew that the power of evil was more than meets the eye. And so he said, pray for me. Pray for me. There were significant spiritual challenges facing him. And so he says, pray for me. Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12 describes that spiritual challenge. Paul writes this. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Yes, there are powers out there that we do not see, but they are powerful, supernatural powers. And Paul knew. And so he says, pray for me. Would you pray for me? He also knows his own weaknesses. He knew how often he failed at overcoming his own sin, how often his flesh would get the best of him. And so he had to remind himself of what he knew was so common. I need your prayerful help. I need for God to intervene in me, because left to myself, I do things I know I should not. I am a sinner. So pray for me. Pray that I will say no to my sinful, fleshly passions. I know my weaknesses. He also had a considerable illness. We don't know exactly what it is, but he refers to it as a thorn in his flesh. And it's something that troubled him, impeded him significantly. A thorn in a flesh. And so he says, pray for me. We also know that the Apostle Paul suffered from very poor eyesight. So he says, pray for me. You know, I'm failing. I'm breaking apart. I'm growing old. I need your help. I need God's help. Pray for me. He also knew the size of the threat that was constantly following him like a dark shadow every time he proclaimed Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 11, he describes the constant threat against him. He says, five times I received at the hands of the Jews, his own people, the 40 lashes less one. That's 39 times whipped in the back. Three times I was beaten with a rod. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and day I was adrift at sea. He says, life is hard, ministry life is hard. Pray for me. And he also knew how overwhelmed he was for the souls of people that he was trying to reach for Christ. Paul was a man that was burdened for the lost. So he says, pray for me. In 2 Corinthians, he says in chapter 11, he says, besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Romans chapter 9 verse 3 he says very profound Profoundly he says if I could myself be cut off and condemned in order to save all of Israel I would Pull the same I'm willing to experience hell eternally In order that you would be saved of course he could not do that, but he was willing He had a passion for the lost And so he says, pray for me, pray for us. Pray for Timothy who's so often feeling sick. Remember he had a bad stomach. Pray for Silas who was tortured alongside of the Apostle Paul. Pray for us because we know that in prayer there is power from God above. And let me ask you this question. To what degree do you believe that? To what degree do you believe that through prayer there is power in your life? I could say this, I depend on your prayers. I really do. Please do pray. Pray for me, my wife, my family. I know many of you do. But can I ask you to pray more? I would appreciate it. That's request number one. Here's point number two, verse 26. We go from request, point number one, now to a greeting, point number two. At verse 26, he says, greet all the brothers with a holy kiss, a holy kiss. A holy kiss is unlike the kiss of the world, the kiss that somebody in the world would offer. It's not a feigned kiss, a make-believe kiss designed to make people believe everything's OK. That's not what he's talking about here. It's not a cultic ritual kiss that used to be a practice in which the cults, even today, They would kiss as part of a ritual. No, that's not what he's talking here. It's certainly not a lustful kiss of passionate outbursts. No, it's not that. It's not even a religious kiss like kissing the pope's ring. No, that's not a holy kiss. A holy kiss, well, first of all, it's very personal, isn't it? A kiss is a very personal touch. A holy kiss is a kiss given to someone like they were family. It's a kiss becoming of a saint, becoming of a follower of Christ. Some cultures readily express friendship in kissing. Some do differently. Eskimos, they rub their nose. Is that still true? Was that ever true? I don't know. But I'm told they rub their nose, which to me sounds kind of strange, doesn't it? Oh, I love you, and you rub noses. They probably look at us and say, ooh, they touch lips. I don't know. But where I'm from, they kiss. The whole culture kisses, especially in church. But just culturally, everybody kisses. And they only kiss once. They kiss twice. So it's right and left, right and left. I'm always caught by surprise. I know to give one kiss, I always forget the second kiss. They do likewise in France, my stepmother-in-law, she's the same way, oh poor, she says, and she goes to kiss me right, and then there's always a left, and I always forget. But it's a very personal touch, isn't it, a kiss? It's meant to say, I love you. It's meant to say, we are family. It's meant to say we are fine. It's meant to convey the sense of we are one in God's people together. A holy kiss. To greet each other with a holy kiss in God's house means that there is no rank, there is no distinction within God's household. That is to say that no one is less than the other. Therefore we can personally and dearly greet each other with a holy kiss. Social status doesn't matter. Genders are equal in value. Ethnicity is not an issue. Antagonistic barriers have been broken. A holy kiss. Now here in our culture, we don't tend to give holy kisses, we give holy handshakes, right? Which is a little more frigid. Maybe other parts of the country it's a kiss, but not around here. Here it's pretty much a handshake, and depending on how you give out your hand conveys everything you're feeling, everything you're saying. By the way, they say it was Thomas Jefferson that popularized the handshake, because prior to that, the custom was in the colonies to come to people and just nod, a little bow, a little bow. I'm sure you've seen the period movies, right? A little bow. And Thomas Jefferson said, that's so cold. We're gonna touch each other. We're gonna shake hands. Now he didn't invent the handshake, but he popularized it in America. And now I look at it and say, it's kind of chilly too, the handshake, isn't it? It's kind of keep your distance, right? But that's who we are, and that's how we are. I'm not saying here that after the service you should kiss everybody in the room. I'm not saying that. What I am saying, and you know me, right? But what I am saying is that what Paul is requiring is that we convey this brotherly love, that we convey a sense of it is well between you and me when indeed it is. A holy kiss, treat each other as family. God made friendship, God created peace within a household of God. And by the way, it should always, always be an expression of reality. Never use the holy kiss to say something that is not true. It should be an expression of reality. If you so choose to kiss after the service, a holy kiss to each other, well then good for you. Good for you. We have a request, we have a greeting. Look at verse 27, a command. A command. This is an interesting text. Have this letter read to all the brothers. And here we see the importance of the word of God. Paul is very much aware that these words will settle a great deal of problems and questions and encourage the church. That's why he's writing them. It will help them to walk and live in a way that's honoring to God. So what does he say? He says, make sure that you read this publicly to the congregation. He also understands that these are not merely his words. He understands that these are words given to him by God. We call this inspiration. That God breathed his words into the apostolic writers, Paul being one of them. 2 Peter 1, we read that they were carried by the Holy Spirit to pen these words down on paper. Carried by the Spirit. I appreciate 1 Peter 1.12 that says that angels long to look into these things. Angels long to look into the gospel message and what the gospel is doing in the church of Christ. And that word there, long, it's like rubbernecking. It's like stretching their necks over the balconies of heaven to see what's going on down there. Can you believe it? Now these are angels that stand in the presence of God. Imagine that. And they long to see what the word of God is doing in the lives of people, the church of Christ. I wish we would rubberneck for God's word. that we would long to see it as well. Maybe that's how we should pray for each other. How much more should we be longing to see God's word work in us? Now notice here that as Paul writes this letter, he is not giving homespun advice. He does not send them human logic or problem resolution techniques. He's not concerned with the latest social and cultural trends. He's certainly not looking to attract people or wow them in any way. All he does, very simply, is write down the words of God. He wants God's people to hear and to know God's word. And that is suffice. And that is wonderful. Paul wants the entire church to hear this portion of this newly written, probably the first of Paul's letters, this newly written portion of God's word. He knew that it was essential for them. So he says, read it publicly so that everybody there will hear it. Read it publicly because not everyone could read for themselves, so we'll read it to you. But it also suggests that some were reluctant to take God's Word and read it and hear of it or hear from it. Just like today, for many people, the Word of God is kind of a damper. God's Word sort of shackles them. You mean I can't do that? You mean I can't live like that? You mean I can't believe that? And so what do they do? They say, well, I just won't read the Word of God and there'll be nothing handcuffing me. Paul says, let's make sure everybody hears the Word of God, even those who don't want to hear it. Everybody hear the Word of God and know what God's Word is saying. People who would prefer to live by their own whims, People who would prefer to live by their own desires place themselves in a great amount of jeopardy. You take a look at all the information that's available to us online when it comes to the word of God, I'm amazed, I'm amazed. I read a significant number of articles from week to week on Christian blogs, Christian articles, and sometimes I'm just taken aback by the things I read and how people come to these conclusions. They're not reading the Word of God, and yet they sound so biblical, they sound so earnest and honest, but they are moving away from the Word of God. If they had just kept their fingers in the text, they would not make the conclusions they're making, and they would not teach wrong things to the online world. And it is so easy to do just that. Paul wants these words from God to be read to the entire church when they come together so that they will know the word of God, period. In fact, by his God-given apostolic authority, and this is what was surprising to me. The first time I read this, I was taken aback. Paul, through his apostolic authority, makes clear that there is going to be divine punishment for not complying to this command. Look at what Paul writes there, verse 27. He says, not only I want you to read this to the congregation, but look, he says, I put you under oath before the Lord. Wow. I put you under oath before the Lord, if you do not read it. So important are these words that Paul has penned that for them, To ignore it would actually bring about God's divine judgment on them. Here, Paul invokes God's divine correction to those who refuse to have this read, and by implication, those who will not listen. This is pretty significant, rather severe, and yet necessary. No doubt here that Paul is also thinking of those other letters, which you'll recall, there were people writing other letters saying things that are not true, and they were signing Paul's name at the bottom. And they were teaching things that were untrue, things that were heretical to that early church. And that's why at times Paul says, notice here, he had bad eyes, so he was not the one writing the letter he was dictating, but at the end he would write the last few sentences so that he could say, this is my handwriting, compare it to those other letters. This is what my handwriting looks like. Isn't that amazing? How people would go out of their way to mislead the household of God. And so Paul says, this is me, I wrote it, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, this is God's word, and you need to read it to the congregation. They need to be aware of what God's word is saying, just like we do today. If we want to live a life that is healthy before the Lord, a life that is correct, righteous before the Lord, it begins with understanding, it begins with reading the word of God. Have you wondered why every Sunday we read a portion of the scriptures to you because we need to be in God's Word. I understand that for some of you it's the only time you will have read God's Word all week long. It's not good for you but at least you're reading God's Word here together. I encourage you to go home and read it even daily and then to study it as well. But certainly read it. Certainly read it. No doubt that Paul was covering all the bases as he writes this, but I can't say that, I do wonder what will be of those churches today that ignore God's word. In light of what we see here, what will be of those churches that ignore God's word? I'm scared for them. Or maybe those churches that substitute God's word with man-made techniques to grow a church or to make us more spiritual. There's no shortage of those ideas, but they don't come from God's Word. What will be of those churches? Well, here's one last point this morning, verse 28. Paul said, pray for us, greet each other with a holy kiss, have this read to the entire church, and now a blessing. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. A blessing. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. This is a rather routine way in which the Apostle Paul closes out his letters. Nine times I believe it is he says these words or a form of it. At times he says not only grace be with you but grace and peace be with you. However only because it's a routine it's not like Like we would often sign off for a letter and just say sincerely, but not really mean it. Or how we pray, and often we say, in Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. And often we have no idea why we're saying that, but we say it. It's just to let you know I'm finishing up, I'm landing this baby. Paul is not doing that here. There is meaning in what he is saying. Here, when he says, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, he is asking God to provide his benevolent or kind care to the church continuously. And he's also asking for God to bless this church by providing his grace, his enabling power to each member of that church. He wants this church to be blessed. This is what he means when he says, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. May God's kind care, may his enabling power, may God's grace come to you, may he give to you what you do not deserve. But because you're a child of God, may it be yours. May it be yours. And that grace is available, of course, only to those who No, Jesus Christ. It's available to us only through the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes that very clear. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. By virtue that He is the Lord Jesus Christ, He is able to give to us His kindness and His power. That's what He is able to do. He alone Christ alone is the means by which we receive His goodness, God's goodness, a goodness we do not deserve. In other words, my friends, no matter what the world may say, no matter what religions will say, if you try to obtain God's grace or God's goodness without Christ, it's not gonna happen. It's not that Christ cannot be benevolent, kind to you throughout life. Many of you have lived nice lives, Even before Christ. But you will never know the true pleasure of life or the purpose of life. You will never know true life. You'll never know eternal life outside of Jesus Christ. And those are not my words or my ideas, but the very words of Jesus Christ himself. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me, Jesus Christ. He is the means of grace. He is the means by which we are sustained and empowered. He is the means by which we can identify with God on a daily, routine basis. Christ alone. And I do realize that as here Paul speaks about his grace, the challenges are great. John describes the struggles we face from day to day. John, the disciple, he wrote the Gospel of John, the first, second, and third John. Well, in that first epistle, he tells us that this is our struggle. He names three things. He says, one, the desires of the flesh, two, the desires of the eyes, and three, the pride of life. The desires of the flesh are those innate sinful passions we possess. The desires of the eyes are those temptations that come from outside to us. And the pride of life is that sense that I am self-sufficient. It's an arrogance that says I do not need God. Something we are all familiar with. That's the struggle we face, and that's why we need the grace of God. And so Paul is saying here, may God sustain us. May God sustain the church. even while we wait for Christ to return. And I know that the longer we wait for his return, the more dubious we tend to become. It's been 2,000 years now. He still hasn't returned. Some people say, well, he probably is not coming. Many people don't even talk about it anymore. Well, Paul prays here in the context of Christ's return. He says, may God's grace sustain you in eager expectation. God bestows on undeserving people the ability to persevere in their identity with Jesus Christ. Let's pray for that in each other. Why? So that we will increase in being blameless. Remember, that was our conversation last week. That's what Paul was talking about. That we would be a blameless people, which will then result in increased inner peace And when there's more inner peace in me, there's going to be greater peace between you and me. He was seeking here the welfare of the church, the church he was serving, the church of Jesus Christ whom he served. So there you have it, my friends, 1 Thessalonians. Paul closes out this letter with these final four essentials. Pray for him. Be at peace with each other and display it with a holy kiss. Publicly read the scriptures for your spiritual good and ask for God to sustain each other with his power. Paul knows this ever-present reality. He knows that the power of God to live, the power of God in us to live for Christ on a day-to-day basis is most evident when we are at our weakest. He realizes that in order for us to live for Christ, we need to deny ourselves and live through the strength of Christ. And so he says, pray. Pray. And may God's grace bolster you. Keep you persevering even when you want to give up have you felt like giving up this week. I know some of you have Not even because I talked to you, but I just know some of you have It's the nature of the Christian and for those of you who were down this week and are up today And we'll be up all week some of you are going to be down next week It's the nature of living in this broken world And so Paul says for essentials for essentials if we are going to endure. Here's how Augustine prayed. Maybe we should pray along the same lines. He said, Lord, give me the grace to do as you command and command me to do as you will. What a wonderful way to pray. Let's close in prayer.