“Now, may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”
-2 Thessalonians 2:16–17
Oh, this is one of those verses, actually, two verses where it’s just so easy, so good, so helpful, just to pray word by word through what God’s Word says, to pray according to his Word. So, that’s what I’m going to do, I just want to lead us to pray according to the words of 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17. “Now, may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father.” Let’s just pray. God, we praise you as our heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, as his son who came to save us from our sins, who has risen from the grave as Lord ascended to the Father’s right hand.
2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 Praises God for Prayer
Oh, God, we praise you for this privilege of prayer before you as our Father, through Jesus, your son, you who loved us. God, we praise you for your love for us today. Oh, God, we confess we don’t deserve your love, but you have poured it out on us in abundance. You love us so much.
God, we praise you for the love that you, our Father have lavished on us. We never tire of your love, of your new mercies every morning. You are God, our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort. God, we praise you for eternal comfort. Wow, what a phrase, God, that forever and ever, and ever, we will experience your comfort, that today, amidst trials and suffering and challenges, that you are the God of comfort for us today. God, and please comfort those who are hurting today, those who are listening right now and need comfort.
2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 Asks God for Hope
God, may in this moment, they experience comfort from your spirit and good hope through grace. Oh, God, we love your Word. What a phrase, good hope. God, we praise you for good hope. We praise you that we don’t have to despair. God, we praise you. That no matter how dark it gets, we have good hope through grace, through your grace, through your love, through your mercy.
So, God, would you then in light of who you are. The God of eternal comfort. The God of good hope through grace, would you comfort the hearts of every single person who’s listening right now and establish them, establish them, uphold them in every good work and word? Oh, God, we pray that over our lives. That our lives today would be filled by your grace in us. That our lives will be filled with good works that resound to your glory.
This Verse Helps Us Obey
And for every good word, God, help us to speak in ways that are glorifying to you. God, help us to obey the word you have spoken. Oh, God, we pray. 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17, We love your Word. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace. Comfort the hearts of every single person listening right now and establish us, we pray, in every good work and word. In Jesus’ name we pray, 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
