In 2 Thessalonians the Apostle Paul gives a series of prayers and in so doing he gives us a model for prayer.
The first prayer is found right at the beginning of his letter in 2 Thessalonians 1.2-4. He begins by writing: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1.3). As Eddie Gibbs pointed out a good number of years ago, when Paul said “grace” and “peace” come from the Father, he did not man that there are two separate sources, like the hot- and cold-water taps. Rather, the God our Father is the source and the Lord Jesus Christ is the channel. Bearing in mind what the Apostle wrote in 1 Thessalonians 1.2, 3 where “grace” and “peace” are extended by a reference to “hope”, we might have expected the Apostle here in his second letter to mention hope too. However, almost certainly hope is implicit in his boasting of the Thessalonians “steadfastness” (2 Thessalonians 1.4, where Paul mentions their “steadfastness”, which in 1 Thessalonians was inspired by “hope”.
What a lovely way to begin a letter! I confess that although I may end some of my pastoral letters to people who are finding life tough by writing that I am praying that they may know God’s grace, peace, and hope, I never begin my letters in such a way. I like to think that ultimately there is no difference where we express our prayers for others in our letters. The important thing is that we make clear to those to whom we write the difference that God and indeed Jesus can make to us when we are ‘going through the mill’.
The second prayer comes at the end of the first chapter in 2 Thessalonians 2.11-12. There Paul wrote: “We always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfil by his power every good resolve and work of faith” (1.11). Here he reminded his readers they could not take their salvation for granted. We need to work out our salvation. God is the means of our fulfilling the unique call that God has on each of our lives, but we must not only resolve to work with him, but must also put our faith into action. Or as Eugene Peterson paraphrases the words of Paul, we must pray that God will fill us with “acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something” (The Message). Paul then went on that as a result the Lord Jesus will be “glorified” in us (1.12). What is glory? Glory has been described as ‘the blinding presence of God in our lives’. What’s more, as Eddie Gibbs commented, “It is not surface shine but inner sparkle”. However, it is more than inner sparkle, but rather Jesus is glorified when Christians live out their faith in such a positive way that others can see how faith in Jesus can transform the communities in which we live.
So in our prayers for other Christians known to us, we need to pray that God will enable them to make a difference in the homes where they lives, the places where they work, and in their leisure activities.
The third prayer takes the form of a benediction at the end of the second chapter. There in 2 Thessalonians 2.16-17 Paul began by focussing on God the Father and God the Son: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God the Father, who loved us and through grace, gave us eternal life” (2.18). When Paul wrote “the Father has loved us”, it is likely that the tense used here is a timeless one: God’s love has no limits. Alternatively Paul may have been referring to the Cross, which is the supreme display of God ‘s eternal love”. Here is cause for rejoicing! God loves us all – not just those who have responded to his love, but also to those who have yet to realise how much God loves them.
Paul then went on to elaborate on God’s love: “through grace” [God] “gave us eternal comfort and hope”; or in the words of the Good News Bible, “in his grace he gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope” (2.16). This hope is not wishful thinking, but rather is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus. So when Anglican ministers commit a person to be buried or cremated, they describe this hope as “a sure and certain hope” – or as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote: this hope is “a sure and certain anchor of the soul” (6.19). So we can look death in the face, for we know that death is a defeated enemy (see 1 Corinthians 15.26). This in turn gives us courage to face the challenges of life in this present world.
It is in this context that Paul prayed that the Lord Jesus Christ and Father may “comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word” (2.17). Precisely because of God’s love we can boldly speak of God’s love for us all, and in turn express God’s love by caring for the depressed, the lonely, the said, or those who lack a decent home and find it difficult to pay the bills. What a difference God’s love for us all can make to our world!
The fourth prayer also takes the form of a benediction at the end of 2 Thessalonians 3.16-17. At the end of his letter, Paul prayed, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and all ways” (3.16) – or in the words of the Good News Bible, “May the Lord himself who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way”. In the context Paul may have had in mind the poor relationships in the church at Thessalonica. However, there is a more general truth that there is no situation in which God’s peace cannot be experienced.
Paul concluded with a simple prayer: “The Lord be with all of you”.