Reading
1 Thessalonians 5:20
"Despise not prophesyings."
Discussion
It's easy to grow impatient with preaching, especially when a sermon runs long, when the message sounds like something you've heard before, when we're thinking about tomorrow, or when we feel too tired to listen closely. We've all sat in a pew or at a kitchen table with an open Bible and found our minds wandering before the first point was made.
The brethren of the Thessalonian church apparently faced something similar. Paul's brief but pointed word to them, "Despise not prophesyings," tells us the temptation to dismiss the preached Word is nothing new.
"Prophesying" here refers not primarily to "foretelling" future events but to the "forth-telling" of God's Word, the public declaration of Scripture for the building up of believers. It's through this ministry that the Spirit works in us, correcting our drift, renewing our thinking, and pointing us back to Christ. When we tune it out, we cut ourselves off from one of God's appointed means of grace. Paul's instruction, sandwiched between calls to rejoice, pray, and give thanks (vv. 16-18), places the Word among the ordinary habits of the Spirit-filled life.
For believers, this is a call to come to the Word with open hands, not a closed spirit. It's not earned growth we're after, not through works of willpower, but a grace received through attentive, expectant hearing. And what a witness it is to a watching world when a congregation sits under the Word and comes away changed. Others may notice that kind of hunger. Let's, therefore, keep our ears open that others may see the importance of hearing God's Word.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, forgive us for the times we've sat under the preaching of Your Word and let it pass us by. Thank You for the gift of men called to open the Scriptures and speak it plainly. Give us hungry and attentive hearts, and let what we hear take root and bear fruit in our daily walk. In Jesus' name.
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By JerryS on March 26, 2026, in collaboration with AI: prompted, revised, edited, organized, and formatted by JerryS. For devotional purposes only. All Bible references are from the King James Bible unless otherwise noted.
