by Robin McKinley
2 Thessalonians 3:2-3
The apostle Paul was not bashful when it came to asking for and giving prayer. Neither should we be timid when going to the Lord with our needs and requests. The reason, we can trust God in all of our circumstances to intervene for us.
As we look into 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul indicated in the first verse that his main priority was effective evangelism. Therefore he asked his readers to pray so others would receive and accept God’s message just like they did.
Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. 2 Thessalonians 3:1
After he vocalized this prayer need, he continued with a specific request for himself and his team. Then He offered some encouraging words to his readers.
Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. ” 2 Thessalonians 3:2-3
With the newness of Christianity, Paul was surrounded by people who were hostile to this new movement. These groups continually bombarded them from all sides.
On one side were the Jewish people. They came against him because the Jews denied Jesus was their Messiah. The Jewish leaders did everything they could to cause havoc in the communities where Paul ministered.
On the other side, there were the Gentiles. Many of whom participated in spiritual wickedness. They created their own gods and involved themselves in all sorts of pagan worship. These practices included sexual immorality and human sacrifices.
As the gospel message increased, sales of idols began to decrease. It came to the point that a silversmith had Paul arrested because people stopped buying his silver idols.
We Can Trust God In All Our Circumstances
None of the actions taken against Paul shook him up at all because he had confidence in God. He also wanted the Thessalonian people to exhibit confidence in the Lord as well. He told them the following in verses 3 and 4.
The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. 2 Thessalonians 3:3-4
To help us grow in the Lord we can take two things away from this short portion of scripture.
- The first is this. When we pray for others, it will build our faith and help us draw closer to the Lord.
- The second concerns the Lord’s faithfulness. We can trust God in all our circumstances. Especially to strengthen and guard us against the evil one.
Paul’s prayer ended by exhorting his readers into an understanding, love, and endurance that comes from Christ.
May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:5
We too must ask the Lord to lead us to do the things commanded in His Word.
Lord, thank you for your faithfulness in giving us strength and guarding us against the evil one. Also give us a full understanding, an expression of your love, and the patient endurance that comes from Jesus.
About The Author
Robin, with his wife Cindy, became children’s evangelists early in their ministry. They ministered to children full time for 8 years. During that time they developed several children’s stories which were told with visuals and puppets.
Robin recently turned two of those stories into children’s books. One is called “The Contest,” a book about the Fruit of the Spirit, and the other is called “Twas the Night of Christmas”. He has also authored 5 volumes of devotional books called, 3 Minutes Alone with God. Each entry is a product of his personal biblical Journaling.
These and his other writings are available on his website called Christian Perspectives at www.ramckinley.com. When you visit this site, you can sign-up for newly written devotions as they come out which will be emailed to you.
Presently Robin is the pastor of Calvary Christian Center in Pottstown, PA. He is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God. He and his wife make their home in Birdsboro, Pa. He also serves as the president of the local ministerium. He and Cindy have two married sons and four grandchildren.