{"id":4687,"date":"2024-10-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/reading-plan\/october-3\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T07:58:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T12:58:17","slug":"october-3","status":"publish","type":"reading-plan","link":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/reading-plan\/october-3\/","title":{"rendered":"October 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Insight from 2 Thessalonians 3:<\/span><\/p>\n

We are back to another \u201cFinally\u201d passage. And this time, it looks like Paul means it. We won\u2019t find any antichrists or worldwide rebellions in this chapter. We\u2019re back to normal, everyday life here\u2014the place where most of us spend our time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul begins the conclusion by asking the church to pray for himself and for his fellow workers (Silas and Timothy). He asks the church to pray regarding two specific things. His first prayer request relates to the progress of the gospel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you \u2026<\/span><\/i> 2 Thessalonians 3:1<\/span><\/p>\n

This first request tells us something about Paul\u2019s understanding of how the gospel is advanced. He believed that its advance was directly related to the prayers of the believers.<\/span><\/p>\n

At first glance, the advance of the gospel seems to be a strange thing about which to pray. After all, if God wants the gospel to advance, why should we have to ask him to \u201cspeed ahead\u201d the word of the Lord and why should we have to ask that it may \u201cbe honored\u201d? For that matter, why did Jesus say that his followers should \u201cpray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest\u201d (Luke 10:2)? The simple answer is that God has decreed that these things will happen as his people pray about them. If God\u2019s people will not pray, these things will not happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s second request relates to himself and to his fellow workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. <\/span><\/i>2 Thessalonians 3:2<\/span><\/p>\n

Persecution, while it may serve to advance the gospel at times, is never welcomed by anyone. Paul hadn\u2019t been able to return to Thessalonica because Satan had hindered him (see 1 Thessalonians 2:18) undoubtedly through \u201cwicked and evil men.\u201d How did Paul see himself being delivered from these men (and thus, Satan\u2019s hindrance)? Through the prayers of the saints.<\/span><\/p>\n

Resist the temptation to read these things without applying them to yourself. You need to pray. It is not a fruitless exercise. It is how God\u2019s work is accomplished on earth. He is letting us participate in the moving of his mighty hand!<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_crdt_document":""},"class_list":["post-4687","reading-plan","type-reading-plan","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan\/4687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-plan"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reading-plan"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/handstotheplow.org\/am\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}