◄ What Does 2 Thessalonians 3:5 Mean? ►

Paul was a man of prayer who believed that, although everything in life was subject to God's divine will, eternal purpose, and sovereign permission, God also hears the intercessions of the saints and answers the prayers of His servants - causing all things to work together for our good and for His own glory. And so in this section of Scripture, we discover Paul asking for prayer, while resting on the fact that God is the strength of our heart and our portion forever.

Paul was not only a man who requested ongoing prayer for himself, but He also kept the saints of God in the various churches continuously in prayer. He knew that problems and persecutions were destined for all who live godly in Christ Jesus and so, in his prayerful pleadings for the Christians in Thessalonica he prays: "May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ."

There is no better place for the believer to be than abiding in Christ, and no more secure situation that being covered by the unfailing and abundant love of God for His own, for when all else fails, God is enough - His grace is sufficient.

Paul's prayer for all who have found their eternal salvation in Christ, is that God would direct each of our hearts into the love of God so that in Him we would reflect His patient endurance and steadfast love, as we are being conformed, day by day, into the image and likeness of Christ.

The unfathomable depth of God's love is beyond man's understanding, and that love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has come to permanently indwell our body at the moment of salvation. Nothing is more precious to the Christian than resting in the love of Christ and abiding in Him so that His love become the greatest portion of our hearts - not only here on earth but in the eternal ages to come.

May the Lord in His grace guide us in all that we say and direct us into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

Heavenly Father, thank You that Your love has no beginning and no end and that there is no reserve in that love for Your children. May You direct the hearts of all Your people into the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ so that we may be a reflection of Him in all we say and do. In Jesus' name, AMEN.