God Speaks
Finally, dear brothers, as I come to the end of this letter, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and triumph wherever it goes, winning converts everywhere as it did when it came to you. 2 Pray, too, that we will be saved out of the clutches of evil men, for not everyone loves the Lord. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from satanic attacks of every kind. 4 And we trust the Lord that you are putting into practice the things we taught you, and that you always will. 5 May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and of the patience that comes from Christ.
6 Now here is a command, dear brothers, given in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ by his authority: Stay away from any Christian who spends his days in laziness and does not follow the ideal of hard work we set up for you. 7 For you well know that you ought to follow our example: you never saw us loafing; 8 we never accepted food from anyone without buying it; we worked hard day and night for the money we needed to live on, in order that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 It wasn’t that we didn’t have the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to show you firsthand how you should work for your living. 10 Even while we were still there with you, we gave you this rule: “He who does not work shall not eat.”
11 Yet we hear that some of you are living in laziness, refusing to work, and wasting your time in gossiping. 12 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we appeal to such people—we command them—to quiet down, get to work, and earn their own living. 13 And to the rest of you I say, dear brothers, never be tired of doing right.
14 If anyone refuses to obey what we say in this letter, notice who he is and stay away from him, that he may be ashamed of himself. 15 Don’t think of him as an enemy, but speak to him as you would to a brother who needs to be warned.
16 May the Lord of peace himself give you his peace no matter what happens. The Lord be with you all.
17 Now here is my greeting, which I am writing with my own hand, as I do at the end of all my letters, for proof that it really is from me. This is in my own handwriting. 18 May the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you all.
Sincerely, Paul
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Paul ends this second letter by asking the Thessalonians to pray for him. They were to pray that the Word of God would have free rein as it was carried abroad and be effective just it had among them. They were to pray also that those who faithfully preached the Word would be protected from evil and wicked men. Paul stated emphatically that God would be faithful to guard both him and them. He prayed for them that the Lord would direct their hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. Because of his fatherly concern, Paul charged them to work hard to earn their own living instead of being dependent on others, giving himself as an example. He warned them not to associate with or feed anyone who was lazy and refused to work; however, the Thessalonians were not to hate such people, but warn them as treasured family members and to work hard at doing good themselves. After blessing them in the Lord Jesus, Paul personally wrote his signature for authenticity.
Prayer: Dear Father God, thank You for answering the humble requests of Your children. You especially honor prayers offered for others and for the furtherance of Your kingdom. I pray for You to protect Your people from dangers and enemies, both seen and unseen. I further pray that Your Word would be conveyed to every people group on the planet in an efficient and effective way. I ask that Your workers would not be lazy but work hard to support themselves and others who are truly in need. May they and I inform those who refuse to work and choose to depend on others (especially the government) that we love them too much to let them get by with such behavior. I am willing to sign my name to this prayer, but Jesus’s name has more authority. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will pray for ________ and _______ (specific people who have been like Paul, Silas, and Timothy in my life).
- I will do my part (however large or small) in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
- I will work hard (and with integrity) to support myself, my family, and the work of God.
- I will stand up for what is right and good, especially for those who cannot speak for themselves. (ex. working and praying to end abortion)
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.