Prayer Requested / Encouragement Returned

Date: March 30, 2025

Title: Prayer Requested / Encouragement Returned

Passage: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

INTRODUCTION

As Paul begins to bring this letter to a close, he admonishes the Thessalonians to pray on their behalf. In the first two verses of this section, he asks them to pray for two things: (1) the Word would run swiftly, (2) God would deliver them.

1 - Now, dealing first with the request that the word of the Lord would run swiftly or speed ahead, it is worth noting that the image presented here is that of a runner running a race.

Paul used this same type of metaphor in other places. He often spoke about the Christian life in terms of a race that had to be run.

Running to win the prize.

Just as Olympic runners run to win the prize of victory, so Christians are are to run in such a way that they might obtain the prize of victory.

Now, what’s interesting about what Paul says in this case, however, is that he isn’t actually talking about them, as believers, picking up the paste here; he’s hoping that the Word of the Lord would speed ahead, that is, that the message of the gospel itself would speed ahead; that it would run swiftly; that the truth of God’s Word would be propelled forward.

Paul is asking the Thessalonians to pray for them so that the Word of God which they were called to preach, might find new avenues; be given access into new towns, and take root in the hearts of unreached people groups.

That’s Paul’s desire here. He was a very missional-minded individual. He wanted to see the message of the gospel outrun every other message. That the power of its truth dominate the hearts of men. That the reputation of Christ be honoured amoung the nations. That all the false religions, empty philosophies, and godless ideologies of this world be overthrown so that the truth of the Word of God would be honoured.

That’s what Paul wanted to see!—That God would pave the path for His living and abiding Word to would run its course without hindrance; indeed that it would even sprint ahead while trampling down all the interfering forces of the enemy.

Brethren, is this what we desire to see?

If so, is this the type of thing reflected in our prayers?

Do we pray for the Word of God to make headway in our own region, here in the Temikaming Shores?

Do we trust that God, working through His Word, can expose people’s sin in our own day like we’ve never seen—correct error, transform minds, revive hearts?

Do we believe that the Word of God can charge ahead with unusual strength and swiftness?

There’s no reason to believe it couldn’t… What is it that would keep us from believing this and praying for this, except unbelief?

There’s no excuse here! If God has made it such that His Word can quickly penetrate through any given society, culture, or group of people (like we’ve seen happen before I might add), then we need to pray toward that end.

That’s how Paul approached it as well, because the very thing he was asking for prayer for was the very thing that had already happened among the people in Macedonia; you see that at the end of V. 2 when Paul said, “as happened among you.” In other words, the gospel made great strides forward in those regions; many people were saved; the Thessalonians were testaments of that, themselves.

Now listen, none of this is to say that this got rid of all opposition. It’s not to say that all idolatry was rooted out of the land; it’s not to say that there still wasn’t much work to be done; but even when all of that is considered, when Paul simply looked at what God had done in Thessalonica and what He was continuing to do through the Thessalonians, as far as he was concerned, the Word of God was enjoying what almost seemed to be unhindered progress.

I mean God was doing incredible things. For one thing, a return to the Word of God as the only infallible source of truth was suddenly being embraced by a great number of people.

Radical conversions to Christ were happening all over the place! Pagans were turning from their idolatry to serve the one true God. In effect, revival was breaking out in Macedonia! The Word of God was at work and you couldn’t stop it!

And Paul’s saying, ‘brothers… what happened among you, would you pray that it happens everywhere. Pray that that same fire would continue spread—that it would travel ahead rapidly—that it would penetrate the hardest and darkest to reach areas with ease, and that this would happen so that God’s name and God’s truth would be revered as Holy.’

That’s the first request.

2 - The second request Paul asks for prayer about is that they would also pray (V. 2) that God would deliver them “from wicked and evil men.” And then in V. 3 he adds, “for not all have faith.”

Now, this is where we’re reminded that, though, the Word of God can at times run ahead with great effect and power, it doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be people who try to oppose those who proclaim it.

And this is very evident in the life of Paul. You read the book of Acts, and so often you see him getting into a difficult situation, where evil people were constantly trying to hinder the message he proclaimed by silencing him, attacking him, or imprisoning him. This is just how faithless and wicked people seek to undermine the message: just get rid of the messenger!

Well, given that that’s what the enemies of the gospel were so frequently trying to do to Paul and his coworkers, it makes very good sense that Paul would ask the Thessalonians to pray that God might be merciful to them, in terms of delivering them out of the hands of people who basically wanted to do nothing but destroy the faith.

‘Lord, deliver us.

Convert those who are trying to destroy the faith.

Don’t allow the schemes of Satan to succeed.

Give us the wisdom to know how not to fall in their trap.

Lord, deliver us.’

That’s what he was hoping the Thessalonians would pray for on their behalf.

And in this, we can see that Paul clearly believed in the power of prayer. By believing that the prayer of the Thessalonians would be used in the hands of God to carry out His will in this world, clearly suggests this.

And we should believe the same! We should believe that prayer is like a spiritual walkie-talkie that gives us the ability to call upon our God at anytime as we wage war on the battlefield of this world.

And given that there are so many difficulties, trials, satanic activity, and opposition that we are confronted with in this world; I think that in light of all these things, it should really move us to pray frequently and without delay.

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Well, after Paul admonishes the Thessalonians to pray for them in V. 1-2; we then see, Paul, in. V. 3-5, go on to encourage them in three ways: (1) by reminding them of the faithfulness of God; (2) by acknowledging their obedience; (3) by directing them to the God who is for them!

Let’s look at each in turn, beginning with the faithfulness of God. In V. 3, Paul reminds them of:

1 - The faithfulness of God

V. 3, “But the Lord is faithful.” Remember, this comes right after he said, “For not all have faith…” but then he says, “But the Lord is faithful.”

This is a very natural transition for Paul to make, and a good one to be sure, because as Paul has been dwelling upon the conflicts often imposed on us by outsiders, he knows that the church needs inward strengthening to face these challenges. For that reason, he reminds them that, though, there are many faithless people out there in the world who threaten our faith, nevertheless, God is faithful.

He is sooo faithful!! He will see you through to the end. He who called you into the fellowship of His Son will be faithful to sustain you, establish you, and guard you.

That’s the promise of God to His people. Paul says that “He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”

And this is the way by which God shows Himself faithful to His people. It’s by strengthening us, protecting us, upholding us, empowering us, and fortifying us in the faith so that ultimately we do not surrender to the devil so as to join his team.

This is what Jesus had in mind when He prayed for His disciples in His High Priestly prayer: John 17:15, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”

So, there’s a certain sense in which Satan cannot touch Christians. Now, he can wreac havoc in our lives; He can hurl all kinds of accusations at us; he can bring disruption and chaos, but though he can do all these things, one thing we know for sure is that God will keep us from coming under the control and power of the evil one.

This is a promise you can rest on!

God will be faithful to establish you and to guard you against the destructive and deceptive attacks of the enemy.

What an encouragment that is!

2 - Acknowledges their obedience

V. 4, “And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command.”

So, before Paul calls them to continue walking on the path of obedience, you’ll notice how he first acknowledges that they are already walking on the path of obedience, which is why he is so confident in the Lord about them!

As Paul considered all that the Thessalonians had been through, such as the hostile attacks from the world, the false teachings, the trials, and all the rest… when Paul considered how the Thessalonians were up against so much, and yet they still continued to walk so humbly with their God, this convinced him that God was clearly at work in their lives! There was no denying it! Paul and his co-labourers in the gospel were persuaded that God was mightily at work in their hearts and would continue to be at work in their hearts, and Paul wanted the Thessalonians to know that!

He wanted them to know that they recognized their labor in the Lord. Why?

One of the ways by which you can encourage (and motivate) your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to obey what they are commanded to do, is by first affirming them in the good things they’re already doing…

Now, of course that only applies if there actually is a heart of obedience flowing out of them, but if that is in place, then it really can be more uplifting at times to be told, ‘man, keep obeying the Lord as you’re already doing,’ then to only ever be told, ‘you got to obey the Lord or you got to obey these commands.’

Now hear me, it’s not that the latter statements are unbiblical or wrong, because apostolic commands are often issued out in that very way. The point I’m making, however, is that if you only ever deliver God’s commands without ever being able to recognize people’s sincere obedience to those commands, then after a while it can really dampen the spirit of a person.

If you have such a high threshold that needs to be reached and until it’s reached, you’re just going to keep on exhorting and exhorting and exhorting without barely ever encouraging, then there’s a good chance you might just end up sucking the life out of a person.

But as we look at the way Paul admonished the Thessalonians in V. 4, I think there’s something about the way he addressed it that we can learn from.

As William Hendriksen has pointed out, V. 4 is like “a window through which we can look into the wise, kind, and considerate soul of Paul.”

And I think that’s exactly correct. As Paul was called to constantly issue out apostolic instruction to the churches, we see that inasmuch as he was able to do and deemed it wise to do, he made an effort to acknowledge the good work that was already being done by these Christians in the hopes that they would be even more motivated to keep on laboring in their service to Christ!

And again, what an encouragment this, too, would have been for such a young church as Thessalonica was, to receive such a wonderful commendation from the apostle Paul.

But as great as it is to receive a challenging yet motivating word of encouragment from a good coach, there is nothing more motivating and life-giving than having your gaze fixed on your God and Savior.

And that’s what we see Paul do in V. 5. As a final word of encouragement, Paul points them to:

3 - The God who is for them!

Now to be more specific, we actually see that he points them to their God and Savior, who is for them!

V. 5, “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”

This is a wonderful verse.

For the remainder of our time, we’re just going to camp out here! because what Paul states in this verse, to me, is one of the most important things to grasp in the context of the Christian life.

A) First, that we would have an understanding of the love of God for His people is essential.

That’s what Paul was praying about. As he thinks of the Thessalonians, he offers this sweet prayer to the Lord through which he directs their hearts to the love of God! And this isn’t talking about their love for God; it’s talking about God’s love for them! That’s what he has in mind… He’s wants them to reflect upon the extent to which God loves them so that their hearts would be refreshed, stengthened, and enlarged.

This is like the ultimate motivating force in the Christian life.

When you know that God’s love for you is not conditioned by you’re obedience, it frees you up to serve the Lord from the heart.

When you know that you’re ongoing struggle with sin doesn’t diminish the love He has for us, it casts out all fear of condemnation.

The love of God is an attribute of His character that must be ever before you! You need to know, and you need to believe, that the ground of God’s love for you is His love!

I’m happy it’s that way…!! Because if the degree to which God loved me was determined by the potency of my love for Him, I would experience very little of the love of God… I’m not very impressed by the love I have for God, but I am overhwelmed by the love God has for me…

If we could just grasp that—if we could just view our lives through the lens of the love of God, it would be life transforming!

B) Well, after directing them to the love of God, Paul also goes onto direct them to the steadfastness of Christ… I love this one!

Have you ever considered the steadfastness of Christ?

How He was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross?

How He yielded to the will of His Father, even after sweating drops of blood?

How He endured through so many difficult circumstances, not just the ones where He was accused and attacked, but even the ones where late into the night, he was speding hours upon hours serving the people by healing those who were sick.

Jesus showed tremendous perseverance throughout the entirety of His life.

The steadiness of His character is absolutely remarkeable.

No wonder he brings it up here… Because think about, as Paul is seeking to shape the lives of the Thessalonians so that they might increasingly exhibit the virtues of their God and Savior within their own hearts, what better course of action to take then to direct them to the love of God and to the steadfast, patient, endurance of our Savior, Jesus Christ?

This is what they needed to be reminded of more than anything.

Because keep in mind, when you live in a world of sin—a world that hates Christians and all that they stand for, it’s going to take a lot to be able to respond as God would have us respond.

And as we’ve seen thus far, these two letters written to the Thessalonians are checkered with statements that reveal how they had their fair share of struggles in this world, too. They were afflicted, mocked, and confronted with various challenges, but what were they to do? How were they to persevere? How were they to respond to the world around them? What characteristics were they to exhibit before wicked and evil men?

Well, how about the love of God? How about the patience of Christ?

You see, the only way by which the Thessalonians could remain steadfast in the faith while enduring through their trials in a Christ-exalting way, was by having their own hearts shaped and molded by the ultimate example, which is why Paul directs their hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ!

It’s not just so that they would be encouraged—though that’s part of it! but it’s also so that they would be strengthened to keep on highlighting the gospel before an ever watching world, and indeed hostile world.

1 Peter 2:19-23, “For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

CONCLUSION