Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong – not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority – the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

We no doubt all know the familiar saying that ‘Prayer changes things‘. But Paul clearly held the conviction that prayer changes people. That’s why he not only exhorted them (and instructed, rebuked and corrected), but he also prayed for them. He clearly believed his prayers would make a difference. Why pray if you don’t?

Paul knows, of course, that he may still have to act in a disciplinary fashion when he visits them, but he hopes (prays) for better things – for their full restoration.

The word he uses in verse 9 ‘doesn’t just mean ‘mature’ in the sense of a human being growing up, or a tree getting to the point where it can bear fruit. If Paul had had machines anything like the ones we know, this is the word he would have used to describe what happens when a machine is put into proper running order, when all its parts are functioning properly in themselves and working in harmony with each other. That is what he longs to see in Corinth, and that’s what he’s praying for in particular.’ Tom Wright.

Who are you praying for today? What are you praying for them…and why?