“Finally, brothers, pray for us that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored as happened among you.”
– 2 Thessalonians 3:1
Oh, what a great phrase here in 2 Thessalonians 3:1. Actually two phrases. “May the word of the Lord,” so this is what Paul is asking the church to pray for him and those he’s working with that, the word of the Lord would speed ahead, that it would go out fast, that many people would hear it as soon as possible. “May the word of the Lord speed ahead.” So may it not go slowly. Indeed, may it go fast, and may it be honored, may it be lifted high.
But not just far and wide, but high like a high reverence for God’s word speeding ahead. So not just like, let’s dilute the word to get it out to as many people as possible. No, that’s not the picture. We want the word of the Lord to speed ahead and be honored. And we want it to be revered, loved, glorified, to use even language from Acts 13. We want the word to go out far and wide and fast, and we want it to go high. Lord, we want it to go deep in people’s hearts that they might honor it.
We want God’s Word to take root in our communities where we live and we want God’s Word to speed ahead to those throughout the world who have never heard of Christ.
So this is how we must pray for our churches and for missionaries around the world who are planting churches. Think about it. Don’t we want the word of the Lord to speed ahead in the cities and communities where we live and be honored? Yes. And don’t we want that to happen in places where the gospel has not yet gone? So when you think about two plus billion people in the world right now who have little to no knowledge of the gospel, many have never even heard the name of Jesus. Most have no idea that truth about Jesus. We want the word to speed ahead to them. In particular, I think about the Mughal people in India, 1.8 million of them, hardly any followers of Jesus.
Prayer For the Mughal in India
The Muslim people group, no known followers of Jesus among the Mughal in India, far Northern India. They speak Urdu. So, we want the word to speed ahead in Urdu to them, and to be honored like 2 Thessalonians 3:1 describes. To be honored by them and not just them, right around us. Again, this is both ends. It’s what we see in scripture. Remember, it’s what we saw in the church at Thessaloniki in the beginning. The word of the Lord is sounding forth right around them, and the word of the Lord is sounding forth far from them. So now we’ve got this kind of imagery. It’s speeding ahead and Paul is saying, “Let’s pray together that the word of Lord would speed ahead fast and be honored.”
So, God, we pray for this. We ask for this to be true in each of our churches. God, I pray for the church I pastor, the church I’m a part of. God, I pray that your word would speed ahead from this church, speed ahead throughout the city, throughout Metro Washington, D.C. Please God, please cause your word to speed ahead here and be honored, be lifted high, be loved.
As 2 Thessalonians 3:1 instructs, may the Word Of God Speed Ahead and Be Honored
Indeed, cause your word to be revered and glorified and rejoiced over. God, please cause people to want it and to desire it and to believe it and to trust it, to honor your word, and may that happen speedily. God, I pray for this. Certainly, I pray for this in the church I’m a part of. In particular, I pray for this and other churches and brothers and sisters who are praying this with me right now. God, we pray that in each of our churches, your word would speed ahead and be honored from our churches.
And then God, we pray. We pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are taking the gospel where it’s not yet gone. Please, oh, God, cause your word to speed ahead. Please, oh, God. Cause your word to speed had among the Mughal people in India, among thousands of other people, groups like them. Please, oh, God, cause your word to speed ahead and be honored and be lifted high and to go deep in the hearts of people that they might revere you and know you and love you. God, please may it be so, we ask. We ask this, believing that we are asking according to your word, what your spirit has prompted us to pray for in2 Thessalonians 3:1. So may it be. So may it be so. Please, God, may Your word speed ahead and beyond. In Jesus’ name we pray, 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.
