Pray For Us
2 Thessalonians 3:1-3 NLT
3 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. 2 Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
Sometimes, we as believers can throw out phrases that have little to no meaning. Much like people saying, “hey, we’ll get together,” with no intention of ever making that happen. We can say things like ya’ll pray for us or I’m praying for you, and the follow-up is lacking. There is no way I can ever group all Christians into this over generalization, but there is some truth here.
When Paul says pray for us, he is serious. He is serious in asking and fully believing that the church at Thessalonica will do exactly as he requests. But Paul’s request is not a generic just pray for us. It is specific. And how he lists his prayer requests reveals some of his priorities.
Paul’s first request was that the message of Jesus Christ would spread rapidly and be received in the right way. The way the Thessalonians received the good news was the acceptance that Paul was looking for as he preached all over the known world. Paul’s first priority was that the message of salvation spread to the Gentile world. Not that he would be delivered from trouble. That request was coming, but it was not the first thing on Paul’s heart. Paul’s focus on his mission was one of the key distinguishing features of this godly man.
The second request for prayer by Paul was that he would be delivered from the bad guys. Then, as now, the world was filled with all kinds of wicked and evil people. Not everyone was a believer, which had to have been a bit of sarcasm from Paul. Not everyone has faith was a no-brainer. This is why Paul was traveling the world.Because not everyone was a believer. There were people motivated by Satan or religion or just plain meanness who would try to stop Paul wherever he went. He never stopped going, but a prayer for rescue from these people was appreciated by Paul.
Then it seems that Paul moves from prayer requests to a reminder to the church that God is faithful and will strengthen and protect them from the evil one. Some translations read strengthen and protect from evil. Maybe Paul is encouraging himself that God is his protector from the wicked and evil people. But in any case, it’s a good reminder that God is able to provide the strength and the protection from the evil that is in the world.
When Paul says pray for us, he is not suggesting a Christian activity but rather a Christian strategy for gospel advancement and protection. Prayer has not ceased to be effective. Paul lived by prayer and asked others to join in. He understood that the connection to heaven from earth was prayer, and that prayer was vital to his ability to spread the gospel of Christ.
Prayer
Lord may you use us to help spread the gospel and advance Your Kingdom. And we ask that for Your protection from the evil that is in the world.