Paul's Second Prayer in his Second Letter to the Thessalonians

This is brief, just one sentence, but contains so much: "May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ."

The Lord direct--no mere mortal

your hearts--inner persons

to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ--both love and steadfastness are parts of the fruit of the Spirit as well

Paul's prayers in 2 Thessalonians

I found three prayers in this brief letter. Here is the first with my comments:

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word" (2:16-17)

Again he begins with "now," and again "our Lord Jesus Christ himself"--not that He designates another to do this--and "God our Father" reminds me of the prayer the Lord taught as it begins "Our Father"--"who loved us and gave us eternal comfort"--eternal not just temporal love and comfort--"and good hope through grace"--grace!--"comfort your hearts"--the inner person--"and establish them in every good work and word"--comprehensive.

Two sentences with so much meat in them for us to be nourished by, even this day centuries later.

Paul's second prayer in his first letter to the Thessalonians

Last week's post was about Paul's first prayer in 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13. This week's focus is on his second prayer in that letter: "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

This was a frequently used benediction at a church I attended many years ago. Let me break it down for you:

Now may the God of peace himself--reminds me of 1 Peter 5:10; in both instances it is God who personally acts and does so now

sanctify you completely--every aspect of you

and may your whole spirit and soul and body--again, comprehensive

be kept blameless--which is to say, without blame in the eyes of our holy God

When?

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Guarantee?

He who calls you is faithful--his faithfulness, not yours or mine

He will--not might or perhaps

surely do it

All is guaranteed by God's character, not yours or mine. Isn't that wonderful? It may have seemed so to the Thessalonian believers also.

Paul and the Thessalonians

Paul's ministry in Thessalonica and then Berea seems to have been both brief and fruitful. The jealous Jews saw to the brevity (Acts 17:5-9, 15), but God saw to the fruitfulness (Acts 17:2-4, 11-12).
Writing the first of two letters to the Thessalonians, the team of Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, addresses them as "the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Because three names appear at the beginning of the letter, understandably "we" and "our" are used in chapters 1 and 2. Then Paul, concerned for their response to his situation, sent Timothy back to them: "for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you, and our labor should be in vain" (1 Thessalonians 3:5).
Paul's joyful relief at Timothy's report (1 Thessalonians 3:6-10) elicits his prayer (recorded in 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13): "Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints."
What words/expressions jump out at me? "Now" and "our" and "God and Father himself" and "our Lord Jesus" and "direct" and "increase and about" and "in love" and "so that" and "he may" and "establish your hearts" and "blameless in holiness."
It appears that our God and Father Himself is to do this work so that their hearts are blameless in holiness before Him at the coming of the Lord Jesus with all His saints.
I don't know about you, but this intercession and the "so that" takes my breath away. Here is Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, such a tender and compassionate prayer for a newly established group of believers. What an encouragement it must have been when they heard it.