Engaging the Enemy Together
Finally, pray for us, brothers and sisters, that the Lord’s message may spread quickly and be honored as in fact it was among you, and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil people. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. And we are confident about you in the Lord that you are both doing — and will do — what we are commanding. Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God and the endurance of Christ. (2 Thes. 3:1–5 NET)
I am listening to the local German morning show on television in the background as I write, and the weather announcer did what happens in every local weather broadcast around the world. He spoke about the weather in Europe, then in all of Germany, and then in particular what was going to happen in Stuttgart today (probably). We will probably have more sunshine and less snow than other places in Germany today. Everyone experiences some form of weather, but not everybody gets rain or snow, or sunshine, on the same day.
This was similar to what Paul was writing to the church in Thessalonica. It is not raining persecution on every Christian all the time, but our hearts shjould always be sensitive to those who are in “inclement spiritual situations.” Paul and his companions (Silvanus and Timothy, 1:1), then serving in Corinth (most likely), were facing challenging circumstances — challenging not only because of the opposition they were facing but also because of the great potential Corinth held for the expansion of the gospel. The main events that happened in Corinth are recorded in Acts 18:1–18. If we were to guess about the time line, since both 1 & 2 Thessalonians were written from Corinth, we would say that 2 Thessalonians was written about half way through his eighteen months that he stayed there and ministered (Acts 18:11).
He did not hesitate to admit his need for prayer. The example Paul gave for us was to clearly and humbly admit to his Christian family that he needed prayer (see also Rom. 15:30, Eph. 6:19–20, and Col. 4:2–4). He could do all things through Christ who gave him strength (Phil. 4:13), but he knew that he would only receive that strength as he submitted his heart to Christ and humbly admitted before others his need of their support through prayer.
He did not hesitate to engage new Christians in this ministry of prayer. We should also take note that the people he was asking to pray for him had only been Christians themselves for a short time — probably less than two years. God hears a new Christian’s prayer just as surely as He hears a mature Christian pray, and the new Christians should be encouraged to pray from the beginning of their Christian life.
All Christians face the enemy together. We really have three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil (Eph. 2:1–3). The world is the fallen world system that is opposed to God and to His reign and rule (1 John 2:15–17). The flesh is our sinful nature that even after our salvation still lives within our hearts (Eph. 4:20–24). The devil is Satan and his spiritual kingdom that seeks to deceive, tempt, and enslave us (Rev. 12:9–12).
We we Christians shoot our own wounded? Someone likened Christians to an army that shoots its wounded soldiers. We should realize that we all will have our “moral slip-ups” or sins — some bigger than others, but all of the same nature. So the call of Christ to pray for him also meant for them, and means for us, that we should pray that people not fall into temptation. Protection from the evil one (mentioned in the text above) meant physical protection from attacks but also spiritual protection from temptations.
He affirmed his confidence in the new believers because of his confidence in Christ. Though he humbly asked for prayer, there is no spirit of resignation or of defeat. He believed that Christ would conquer all His foes, and that every Christian would come through to the day of victory, to the “love and endurance of Christ.”
So we are to humbly admit our need for prayer. We should pray not just for ourselves but for others who serve (please pray for me if you are reading this). We should engage all true believers in the ministry — through personal involvement for some, but also through prayer for all. We should remain confident in one another and in the final victory of Christ. And we should do so in a spirit of love.
Corinth became a great church and we have more written in the New Testament to and about the church there than any other church outside of Jerusalem. But all around us are churches and Christians with great potential for whom we should pray. Who will you pray for right now?
