 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
Warning Against Idleness6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. Benediction16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. 17 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Meditation If you were to ask a church to pray for you what would be your prayer request? Paul’s request is for God’s word to go wide in the world and deep into hearts. John Wycliffe (1330-1384) delivered a great gift by translating Scripture from Latin into English. Can you imagine not having access to the life giving Word of God in a language you understand? Today Wycliffe Bible Translators report that one in five people in the world do not have a bible in their own language, meaning that more than a billion people have no access to God’s word. We must pray with Paul for God’s Word to go deep and wide. Paul’s prayer request is followed by three admonitions: To remain steadfast in the love of Christ (2-5), to not fall into idleness but work heartily (6-12), and to not grow weary in doing good (13), with a warning against rejecting apostolic teaching (14-15). Paul’s prayer request demonstrates his embodiment of these admonitions and authenticates the apostle’s invitation to “imitate” him (7). The language of Paul’s prayer is potent. First, he prays the word will “speed ahead,” referring literally to running (as in Psalm 147:15). The prayer for the word to be “honored” is a request for the word to be celebrated as glorious by those who hear it. Paul’s passion is for God’s word to go deep into hearts and wide in the world. Paul’s prayer request for the Colossian church is similar, that God would open a door for His word to go forth (Colossians 4:3). Will you join Paul’s passionate plea for people to receive God’s word around the world? Richly Dwelling -Will you take a moment to pray for God’s word to go forward into the world, deep into hearts of all who hear? -Please pray for Bible translators and missionaries working with tribes. Please pray for God to raise up more translators to reach more tribes. -Please pray for Christians with many Bibles in their homes to have the word go deep into our hearts and for us to sacrificially give for the word to go wide into the world. Key Verse Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, Check out the Week's Links HERE. Comments are closed.
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