The book of Acts contains the record of Paul’s ministry, describing enough opposition and suffering to discourage anyone from following in his steps (see Acts 13:3, 50; 14:5-6, 19; 16:22-24). All these events took place before Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica, where his preaching caused a riot in which several believers were arrested and beaten, and the apostle himself had to flee (Acts 17:5-9).

In light of these ceaseless trials, the last thing we would expect from Paul is confidence about his ministry. Yet he writes to the Thessalonians that “we have confidence in the Lord about you” (2 Thess. 3:4). Indeed, throughout his letters Paul exudes confidence in the success of his ministry enterprise. If we wonder at the source of this optimism, we find it in the apostle’s appeals for prayer. “Finally, brothers,” Paul begins the final section of his letters to the Thessalonians, “pray for us” (v. 3:1). Here is the secret not only of Paul’s success in ministry but especially of his confidence in the face of ministry trials: his confidence that God answers prayers.

Paul begins his final section not by writing just about prayer in general but specifically seeking prayer for the ministry of the gospel. As the apostle sees it, prayer is necessary for gospel ministry, so that “the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored” (v. 3:1). If anyone could seem to get by without prayer, that person would be the apostle Paul. Nonetheless, throughout his letters Paul solicits the prayers of fellow Christians.

For his own part, Paul was devoted to praying for others. It seems that he made it his practice to pray for someone whenever he heard or thought about the person. In the same spirit, Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). We find this same commitment to prayer in practically every Christian who has been greatly used by the Lord. Paul realized that the success of God’s Word does not rely on natural factors such as oratorical ability and a dynamic personality. Rather, since the gospel aims to bring spiritually dead unbelievers to saving faith, it relies on God’s power to convey spiritual life to those who hear and believe. Since the gospel requires the Holy Spirit’s working to open the hearts of those who would otherwise never believe, Paul knew that prayer is needed for the gospel to speed ahead and glorify God.

Another reason why Paul urgently desired prayer was to counter opposition to his ministry: “that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith” (2 Thess. 3:2). In Corinth, Paul was “opposed and reviled” by Jews who opposed the gospel (Acts 18:5-6, 12-13). He may well have these specific people in mind when he speaks of “wicked and evil men.” The word translated as “wicked” is better rendered as “unreasonable” or “wrongheaded” (Greek atopos). To be “unreasonable” and “evil” go together in hatred of the gospel.

Paul mentions “not all have faith” to point out that faith is God’s sovereign gift and that opposition to the gospel is inevitable. We should never be dismayed when people rise up in anger at the message of God’s grace or when worldly powers misrepresent the gospel as something narrow or bigoted. Without the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, no one has faith and everyone hates the light that Jesus shines. Jesus explained: “This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). The reality of this opposition urges us not to despair but to prayer.

Even as Paul appeals for prayer in light of the slow advance of his preaching in Corinth and the serious opposition against it, he simultaneously expresses his confidence in this very ministry. “We have confidence in the Lord,” he writes (2 Thess. 3:4), just as we should have confidence in our own prayers for gospel ministry. If we ask why Paul was so confident in prayer for the gospel, one answer is found in verse 3 where he declares that “the Lord is faithful.” The apostle states this to form a decisive contrast. Our problem is that “not all have faith.” “But the Lord is faithful,” and this is what really matters. Like Paul, we should pray for gospel success in preaching, in witnessing, and raising our children, not because we trust our own labors or because we see spiritual promise in those whom we seek to reach, but solely because we trust God to be faithful to bless and empower His gospel for salvation of those whom He will call.

Paul expresses confidence not only in God’s faithfulness to his present ministry of the gospel but especially in God’s saving work among the Thessalonians: “We have confidence in the Lord about you: (v. 4). The key phrase is “in the Lord.” Paul knows that his readers possess union with Christ through saving faith; he is confident about them because they are “in the Lord.” This is the second source of our confidence: the decisive difference it makes to be in Christ and to have Christ in us, experiencing saving faith and the reality of the new birth. However unpromising Christians may seem, we know that great things are in store. We might come to Christ with great problems, character defects, and crushing failures in life. Yet Paul wrote that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). For this reason, whenever someone is “in the Lord,” we anticipate supernatural power for change and spiritual growth. God’s faithfulness does not relieve us from needing to persevere in prayer. Instead, confidence in God will keep us praying until God has sped forth the gospel and overcome spiritual opposition.

Verses 3-5 presents a brief description of what God does in saving us through faith in Christ. First, Paul rejoices that God is faithful to “establish you and guard you against the evil one” (v. 3). This is the apostle’s way of describing a true conversion to faith in Christ. Fatih does not involve a bare profession of faith, but our being rooted in Jesus Christ. In terms of Jesus’ parable of the soils, true salvation is not like the seed that falls amid the thorns of worldly cares and desires, which choke faith to death, or like the seed that falls in shallow soil, where the heat of tribulation causes it to wither (Matt. 13:20-22). Instead, saving faith is like the seed that falls in good soil, so that it “bears fruit and yields” (Matt. 13:23).

Second, God enables believers to obey His Word. Paul writes: “We have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command” (v. 4). Contrary to the easy-believism practiced so widely today, biblical evangelism includes obedience to the Bible. Jesus’ Great Commission tells us to “make disciples…, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). We must therefore pray for the obedience of those who profess faith in Christ, trusting God’s faithfulness and the Holy Spirit’s power to train them to a life of practical godliness.

Third, in verse 5, Paul speaks of God’s bringing believers to spiritual maturity: “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” Growing in our knowledge of God’s love, we mature in our love for God. Relying on Christ’s faithfulness as our Savior, we persevere through steadfast faith in Him. Paul particularly notes that in maturing us, God directs our hearts to spiritual maturity. This is something that we should pray for: “O God, direct my heart!” We can be confident that God will answer. In the words of Hebrews 13:21, He will equip us “with everything good that [we] may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.”

So how can we learn to pray with greater confidence in the Lord? First, we will gain confidence in prayer by increasing in our knowledge of what God is like. Knowing God comes only through study of the Bible. The Bible assures us that through faith in Christ we become God’s dearly beloved children. As a faithful Father, God is certain to receive our prayers with love and concern. As God’s children, Christians pray with confidence. Jesus promised: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).

Second, we grow confident in prayer through positive experiences in which we clearly see how graciously God has intervened. As we start praying about our needs, and especially for ministry situations, is that we will learn how powerful prayer is in the hands of our gracious God.

Third, we gain confidence as we pray for the things that our Lord desires in our lives. Jesus said, “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you” (John 16:23). “In Jesus’ name” means “in accordance with Jesus’ will.” We do not

know whether God wants us to have a certain job or improved health. But we do know that God wants us to repent of sins, grow in godly character, and offer ourselves for the spread of the gospel. When we pray for these and other priorities of Christ, we can be certain of a positive answer. Praying in confidence thus starts with seeking from God the things that God is seeking in and through us. As we grow spiritually and become more committed to Christ’s work of salvation in our lives and in the lives of others, our confidence in prayer soars through God’s power.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Study Questions:

For what reasons does Paul ask for prayer in verses 1-3?

Why might Paul need prayer to be rescued from evil and wicked people?

Think about Christian leaders you know and the opposition that may result when they shine God’s light, even with God’s love, in dark places. How can you pray for them as the Thessalonians did for Paul?