2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.  But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.  And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command.  May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

 

There is much to be learned from the prayer requests and the prayers recorded in Scripture.  Since they are inspired by the Holy Spirit, they give us a vision into the desires of God for our lives and a model for our prayers.  Paul starts this section requesting prayer from the church and finishes it by praying for the church.  Clearly those things overlap and demonstrate that the things we need prayer for are often the things that others need for us to pray for them.  So, these are the three prayer requests we see in this passage.

 

THE ADVANCMENT OF THE GOSPEL: Our priorities in prayer should always be aligned with God’s.  The mission of making disciples in all nations is obviously one of God’s greatest priorities so it should influence our prayers.  Paul asks for prayer that the Word of God would speed ahead and be honored.  The advancement of the Gospel involves basically two things: opportunities to take the Gospel to new places and openness of those places to the Gospel.  Unfortunately, we have so few believers willing to sacrifice their comfort and security to take the Gospel to unreached places.  When those few believers are willing to go, there are many obstacles to overcome.  Many unreached people groups are in countries that are difficult to enter.  These groups often live far from civilization in places with many diseases and harsh climates.  Some groups are almost impossible to find because they are nomadic.  Then, once missionaries gain access to a group without the Gospel, they are often rejected, mocked, and persecuted by the people they are trying to reach.  This is why we must pray for the advancement of the Gospel.  That God would raise up missionaries, provide support, open doors in closed countries, protect missionaries from disease and discouragement, and open the hearts and minds of unbelievers.  

 

THE PROTECTION OF THE SAINTS: The advancement of the Gospel will always be met with opposition.  Paul speaks of wicked and evil men who do all they can to impede the advancement of the Gospel.  It seems that there is an encouragement here for mutual prayers.  Paul asks for the church to pray for him and his team to be delivered from these evil and wicked men but then Paul also expresses the fact that he is praying that the Lord would establish and guard the church from the evil one.  There is constant opposition to the Gospel in new places as well as in places where the Gospel has already taken root.  We need to be in prayer for one another about the attacks of Satan and those who follow him.  Evil and wicked men as well as Satan and his demonic hoard seek to impede the advance of the Gospel in new places and to corrupt the Gospel, churches and believers in places that have already been reached.  The enemies of the Gospel are everywhere so we must pray for the Lord’s protection for one another. 

 

THE OBEDIENCE OF THE BELIEVERS: Paul states his confidence that the church in Thessalonica will stand firm against the opposition they face and walk in obedience.  Paul can have his confidence because he is praying for this.  This church had been submissive to his teaching, and he is sure they will continue to be obedient to the commands of Scripture.  Specifically, Paul is praying that their hearts would be directed to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ.  When facing persecution and the trials of living in a sin cursed world, it is easy for us to doubt or forget about the love of God for us.  It is also easy for us to become discouraged and begin to waver in our faith.  We must pray for one another to be assured of the Love of God and to be faithful in the face of opposition.  Obedience does not come naturally to sinful people.  We must pray for the Lord to bless us with obedient, loving, and faithful lives.

 

APPLICATION: Pray for the advancement of the Gospel; that God would open doors and open hearts so that disciples and churches can be established in all people groups.  Pray for the Lord’s protection against temptation and the attacks of evil men and Satan.  Pray that believers everywhere would live in obedience to the Scriptures, be assured of the love of God in all circumstances, and stand faithfully in the face of persecution. 

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