II Thessalonians 3:1
“Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you.”
Paul was an extremely talented person. He knew the Lord gifted him in speech, reason and with roman and jewish backgrounds. But he was also aware that without God’s help, his work would be unproductive.
Paul was reliant upon the Lord. God orchestrates all that occurs. I’m not sure how that works with free will, but He’s sovereign. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” What’s true with the king is also true with the circumstances of our lives. He turns and shapes circumstances as He pleases.
He wants us to ask Him for help. Matthew 9:38 says, “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Also, James 4:2 says “we don’t have because we don’t ask.”
The Lord loves us all and wants to connect with everyone. He wants to use us to assist in this process. As we submit to His guidance and seek Him, along with relying on His power, amazing things occur.
An important factor is prayer. The James passage says that “we have not, because we ask not.” Prayer does two things: keeps us connected with the Lord and opens doors.
We are to have a devotional prayer life. Much like friends having coffee, we are to rest in the Lord and bond with Him as Father. Reading through the Psalms, we witness David’s prayers to God. At times David is restful, other times anxious, but always honest in prayer. This is a necessary and wonderful practice.
The second type of prayer is for God’s intervention. Paul is asking for prayer. His job is to spread the gospel to the gentiles. He’s asking for open doors and for God’s blessing. We are to pray for the needs that come to our attention.
Paul would have been at the top of the prayer list of everyone that knew him. He was doing a brave work in a world in which Christianity was highly persecuted. It wasn’t uncommon for christians to be jailed or put to death. Most of Paul’s letters were written while he was in jail.
We live in a world of great need. We should be praying. We encounter needs as we go throughout our day: friends are down, people are suffering with ailments, some show interest in faith, missionaries are serving, etcetera. Then there are more global problems: countries are corrupt and oppressive, believers are persecuted, and so on. We are to pray for these.
Lord, thank You for the privilege of prayer. Help us to stay connected to You through it and to pray for the many needs that we encounter.