2 Thessalonians 3:2. “And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.”
MAY BE DELIVERED. Underneath the surface of a normal day, either here or far away A battle against the saints is being waged. We can’t really hear what they are saying out there Or how the attack is planned and being staged. But this I know, our God is stronger, and in prayer, we’ll linger As to Him, I go in earnest prayer. Whether the battle is short or longer, as I pray and ponder I know God will protect us even there.
Some of those who oppose and their minds are closed Hardly know that the one they serve is the devil. They only know that those God Himself has chose Have a faith they can’t seem to unravel. And that makes them mad; some of them are sad Because trying as hard as they can – The objects of their attack are not retaliating back Their trust is only in God, not in man.
Earnest prayer to God on behalf of others’ work Has a power that evil cannot stop. When saints start to pray for their sisters and brothers The ones attacked always come out on top. Our God, who hears our prayers, can answer anywhere In the world where the object of intercession – Wage the battle sore and know that there are more On God’s side rather than that of the oppression.
“O prayer answering God, may those we prayed for in the meeting, and those Linda and I pray for together, and those I pray for here – experience the power of the Spirit in their labors, the joy of the Lord in their souls, the strength of God when opposed by the powers of darkness. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
It is from the Lord that the word comes, and it is for the Lord that it is proclaimed. The objective, the desire, is that what has happened will keep on happening. The word of the Lord is preached that it may have a "free course," run toward a goal even as an athlete pursues the objective before him when he runs a race. The prayer also is that it will run unhindered by men until the desired effect has been realized and the goal is reached - the word of God is "glorified." It will stand out in a community of people where its effect can be seen in God's people and their conduct in an ungodly world.
Paul's request for prayer continued as he asked the Lord's people to pray for his safety and preservation to continue the work to which he was called. There are times in the work of spreading the Gospel when the need for deliverance from irrational men is seriously needed. "Unreasonable" opposition may come from simple ignorance and even fear because people are under Satan's domination. Other times, it is religious "unreasonable" men who have taken a position and do not want the personal or financial advantages that their religious position has given them to be jeopardized or taken away. "Wicked" men are morally unreasonable people whose character and behavior will oppose those who "live godly in Christ Jesus." Those who opposed the apostle and those with him were probably Jews who had not experienced the blessings of "the faith," were not people of faith, and were not faithful to the word of God, even though they had heard it.
In contrast, for those people who oppose the Gospel and the word of the Lord, it is the Lord Himself whom we serve. When we live in the consciousness of the presence of the Lord, we can have full confidence in what He has done for us and what He can do for others through us. He is still working on our behalf. No matter what others may say or do, our Lord can be counted on in every situation in which we are found because He is faithful. He will not allow more than we can bear to happen to us. He is the One who keeps us from falling and preserves us. He confirms us in His word and supports what we do when acting in His will. He guards us from evil, from evil men, from Satan's attacks, from the world - He does "deliver us from evil."