Our devotional in Paul’s prayers and prayer reports continues!
1 Corinthians 1:4-9 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5For in him you have been enriched in every way–in all your speaking and in all your knowledge– 6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
This is another of the ‘I give thanks for you’ prayer reports that often open Paul’s letters. In this case he is thankful for what God has done for them in Christ: he has given them grace which enriches them in every way, and shows that Paul’s gospel about Christ is true. Notice again how intentional Paul is about giving thanks for people: in this letter he will call the Corinthians to a pretty stiff accounting for their misuse of spiritual gifts, yet he pauses to give thanks for those very gifts, and for their eagerness for the return of Christ.
Paul then turns, as he often does, to the nature and character of God (and Jesus). When we pray for others our confidence is not in them, but in Jesus who will keep them ‘strong to the end,’ and ‘blameless on the day,’ and in God because he is the one who called them into fellowship with his Son, and He is faithful.
