Eternal Encouragement - 1&2 Thessalonians
Lanse Evangelical Free Church
August 17, 2025 :: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
Here are some of the most encouraging words in the English language for any Christian to hear. Six of the most encouraging words to hear: “I have been praying for you.”
Has somebody said that to you recently? “I have been praying for you.”
This morning, we prayed for those who are going to back to school. I miss those days myself. Most years, I loved to go back to school. I wish I could do it again! I’d love to do another degree. It’s not going to happen, but I’d love that.
But I wouldn’t want to do it without somebody praying for me. So many people prayed me through my education, all those many years!
Like we gathered up around the kids, and we prayed for the teachers and the administrators and the aides and the drivers and the support staff and everybody else at the school.
And we’re telling them, “We are praying for you.” Kids, we are praying for you. Teachers, we are praying for you. And we won’t stop! We believe in the power of prayer, amen? That is we believe that our God is powerful to answer prayer. Our God loves to listen to His people pray, and He loves to answer those prayers.
That’s why it’s so encouraging when we tell each other that we’ve been praying for each other.
And look what we have here in verses 11 and 12?! Paul, Silas, and Timothy write to the church of the Thessalonians in verse 11, “We constantly pray for you.”
Your version may say something like, “We pray always for you” or “We always pray for you.”
Paul says that he and his ministry team were constantly, regularly, perpetually lifting up this beloved baby church in prayer before the Lord.
That must have been so encouraging for the Thessalonians to read! To be told that the Apostle Paul was not only thinking about them and trying to teach them and cared about them, but that he was constantly praying to God for them.
Paul sure loved this church, didn’t he? Paul had a dozen pictures of this church up on his fridge! Verse 3 above said that he was always giving thanks for them. And verse 4 said that he was always boasting about them to the other churches. And now verse 11 says that he was always praying for them.
Paul was practicing what he preaches! Remember this from 1 Thessalonians 5? Paul said that this was God’s will for them, that they “Pray continually.” That they put their prayer life on speaker-phone? Dial the Lord in the morning, hit “speaker,” and talk to God all day long. Don’t hang up.
Paul says he does that, and when he does, he’s praying for the Thessalonians all the time!
“Lord, remember the Thessalonians. I’m so thankful for them. Thank You, that their faith is growing more and more and their love for each other is increasing more and more–even though it’s getting harder there in Thessalonica.
Lord, You know how the Thessalonians are being persecuted and troubled by their neighbors. Hounded and pounded by the government and their hostile neighbors, both Jew and Gentile.
Lord, I’m praying for them again. And again. And again. Here I am, Lord. I’m praying for the Thessalonians. Morning, noon, and night.”
Paul keeps coming back to God on behalf of the Thessalonians.
That must have been so encouraging for them to read when they got this letter. And it must have also kind of made them want to be the answer to those prayers, too, right? Like whatever Paul was praying and praying and praying, the Thessalonians were probably led to want that same thing for themselves, too.
And maybe pray that same thing for themselves, too. And I think it’s right and good for us to pray these things for ourselves and for each other. I think this prayer report is set down in holy Scripture so that we can get our prayer priorities from it. If Paul constantly prayed these things for the church of the Thessalonians, maybe we should co
Now before we see what Paul actually prays for, we need to think a little bit about those first four words in verse 11. “With this in mind...”
Because this prayer report does not appear in a vacuum. It doesn’t show up out of the blue. Paul prays these things in view of what he’s just written to them. “With this in mind...”
What did Paul have in mind?
The justice of God.
Remember last week, we saw that God’s judgment is right. His justice is perfect. He doesn’t ever decide something wrongly. He never gets fooled by appearances or take the wrong factors into account. God judgment is always right and righteous and holy.
We learned last week that in God’s perfect justice, God’s true people will receive His eternal kingdom. Verse 5, “All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.”
And then we also learned last week that in God’s perfect justice God’s true enemies will receive their eternal destruction. Verse 6. “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
God’s justice is perfect and is coming when Jesus returns.
“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you...”
With the return of Christ in mind, with the glorious day of His return in mind, Paul constantly prays for the Thessalonians. It hasn’t happened yet. We have to wait for God’s perfect justice to come. But, in the meantime, we pray for each other. And we pray more for each other. Regularly. Perpetually. Constantly.
Now, what did Paul ask? He was doing all this praying. What was he actually praying for?
I’d like to summarize his requests in three points. Here’s number one. “We constantly pray for you...
#1. THAT OUR GOD WOULD COUNT YOU WORTHY OF HIS CALLING.
That’s exactly what he says in verse 11.
“With this in mind [the return of Jesus Christ], we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling...”
Notice it says, “our God.” I love that. Paul is saying that they have the same God, they share the same God. And that he’s asking that same God to count them worthy of God’s calling.
Now that sounds a lot like verse 5, right? Up in verse 5, Paul said that the Thessalonians were going to be counted worthy of the kingdom of God. Not because they were so great, but because God was at work in them which was obvious because of their persevering faith and increasing love.
God was clearly doing His saving and sanctifying work in their life. They believed and they continued to believe even in the face of persecution.
And here Paul says that he prays that this would continue! He said it would happen in verse 5, and now he prays that it would happen in verse 11.
We often think that if God has promised something, then it doesn’t make sense to pray for it. I mean, God already promised it! So why pray? But that’s not how the Bible thinks. The Bible says that if God has promised something, then we ought to pray for it because we know it’s something God has promised!
And, here, it’s the kingdom. God has promised the kingdom for His true children. Now, we pray for each other that we would be counted worthy of the kingdom. That God would fulfill His promise in us. The promise of His calling. His summons to the Kingdom and to Himself, the King.
God is calling His true people to Himself. And we pray for each of His children that that calling would be fulfilled! So that our lives would match our calling. Some of your versions even say that Paul constantly asks that God might “make” the Thessalonians worthy of God’s calling. Not that they could ever earn it! No, but that their lives would more and more match what they are called to be and to do. That they would live more and more as citizens of the kingdom to come.
Do we pray that way? Do we pray for each other that our God would count us worthy of His calling?
Did any of us pray that for one of kids going back to school this week? Often we pray for safety and security and for peace and wisdom as people head back to school–and well we should! But we should also take a note from Paul and pray that Christians heading out into the world (whether its to school or not) would be counted by God as worthy of His calling! Headed back into the world like the citizens of the kingdom that we are called into.
And here’s what that looks like in practical terms. Number two. “We constantly pray for you...”
#2. THAT OUR GOD WOULD COMPLETE ALL YOUR GOOD WANTS AND GOOD WORKS.
Look at again at verse 11.
“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”
Paul is perpetually praying for God’s power to be at work in their lives.
“By his power.” Not by their own power! They need God’s power at work in their lives. And so do we. If God doesn’t do it, we’re up the creek!
Paul is perpetually praying for God’s power to “fulfill” two things, “every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”
Now that word “fulfill” means to bring to completion. It’s to take something that is in seed form and bring it to fruition. It means to fill something up to its potential. Like a glass being filled up with life-giving water.
And Paul is constantly asking God to fulfill the potential of all of their “good purposes.” What does that mean? I think it means their good intentions. It’s the things that the Thessalonians want to do that they should do. It’s their good desires. It’s their good resolutions. It’s their “good wants.”
Do you have good wants? Do you want to do something good for the Lord today? This week?
Students and teachers going to back to school.
Employees and employers going back to work.
Family members going to family functions.
Neighbors headed out in the neighborhood.
Do you want to live like a citizen of the kingdom of God? I’m sure that many of us do.
Are we going to do it? That’s often a different question, isn’t it? We might want to, but are we going to? Are we going to walk worthy of our calling? Even in the face of persecution? Even if it’s hard?
Well, Paul prays for it. He constantly prays for the Thessalonians that by God’s power, God may fulfill every good purpose of theirs.
“Lord, I’m praying for the Thessalonians again today. I know that they so often want to do the right thing. Please give them the power to do it. Fulfill that good purpose, Lord! Bring it to fruition. Bring it to completion! Fill it up, Lord. Please, Lord.”
We should pray like that more often. We should pray for our Christian loved ones that they do the good thing that they want to do.
That they overcome a temptation and break an addiction.
That they speak to their co-worker about Jesus.
That they confront their loved one about their sinful behavior.
That they resolve a conflict.
That they give generously to the needy.
That they forgive that person who offended them.
“Lord, please by your power, fulfill every good purpose of your child.”
Every “good want.” Turn it into a good work. Turn this good want into a good work!
See how Paul goes from the inner desire to the outer action? He doesn’t just pray that they would want something good but that they would do something good and that it would be energized by their faith. Look at verse 11 again.
“...[W]e constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”
Notice that our good works come from our faith. The words here are literally something like, “every work of faith.” We do what we do because believe something to be true (see 1 Thess 1:3). Because we trust in something. And Paul prays that his Christian friends at Thessalonica would trust God and do the sorts of things that people who trust God do.
Like put on a Good News Cruise.
Like head off on a missions trip to Malawi or Kentucky.
Like talk to their neighbor about Jesus.
Like put food in a free fridge.
Like...what is it that you know you should do because you believe in Jesus?
Paul prays that these good works prompted by faith would be fulfilled.
I think that probably means that they would be done. But even more than that, that they would have an effect on the world. That God’s kingdom would come here on earth as it is in heaven.
We should pray like this for each other!
“Lord, I pray for Lanse Free Church that by your power, every act that was prompted by faith yesterday at the Good News Cruise would be fulfilled.”
That people would come know Jesus as their Savior!
That people would come to follow Jesus as their King!
I pray that as these precious people in front of me do the very things that you have called them to do; you would bring those good works to completion.”
This week, I messaged all of the teachers in our church family and asked how we could be praying for them as they headed back into school.
And one of the things Mary Beth wrote me was this. She says, “As a teacher, I ask that you might pray for me to live out Matthew 5:16 to ‘arise and shine’ with the love of Jesus each day...and finally, can you pray for my own children, and all the other students in our church as we transition back to the routine of school. Pray also for them to be kind, helpful, courageous, and shining like Jesus.” Amen!
Matthew 5:16 says, “[L]et your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (NIV 2011).
I pray that God would complete all your good wants and all your good works. To the glory of Jesus!
That’s where Paul goes next and last. Look at verse 12.
“We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Point number three and last. “We constantly pray for you...”
#3. THAT OUR GOD WOULD GLORIFY JESUS IN YOU AND YOU IN JESUS.
This in verse 12 is not so much a particular thing that he prays for as the reason why he prays the things he constantly prays for in verse 11. This is the purpose of it all.
“So that the name of our Lord Jesus...”
Remember that a name in the Bible often stands for the essence of the person. It’s his reputation. It’s his character. It’s more than a label. The name is the person himself.
Paul perpetually prays these things for the church “so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you.” So that when people look at us wanting something good and doing something good, they don’t think, “Oh, what a good person!”
They think, “Oh, what a good Savior! Oh, what a good Lord!”
“[L]et your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and praise [not YOU! But...] your Father in heaven” and His Son Jesus Christ. As you and I live worthy of His calling, Jesus gets more and more glory.
But catch this, we actually get to share in that glory, too. Did you see that in verse 12?
“So that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him.”
It’s a double glorification! Not that people say, “Oh look at that Jesus. He sure has a glorious Matt Mitchell in Him!” No, it’s more like this, “Matt Mitchell gets to have Jesus shine in Him. Matt Mitchell shines! Yes, but not with Matt Mitchell-ness. Matt Mitchell shines with Jesus-ness.” And not just Matt Mitchell, but every genuine Christian here. That’s what Paul prays!
Put your name in verse 12. “We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in YOU[!], and [YOU!] in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Now that happens piece by piece right now. But one day, it will happen wholesale. Remember what he just said in verse 10 about that day when Jesus returns...
“...on the day he comes to be [what?] glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you” (2 Thess. 1:10).
Jesus Christ is going to transform us so that we glorify Him in every way. And we will shine! Not because we are so great, but because He is so great and so gracious. Verse 12.
“...according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our good works don’t make this happen. This is all of grace. This is all because of what God did for us when He gave His Son Jesus Who took our place at the Cross. Have you placed your faith in Him? That’s the only way for Jesus to glorified in us and we in Him.
What if we prayed this way for each other?
What if we took 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 and prayed these words and ideas for each other every. single. day?
What might our God do?
He might count us worthy of His calling.
He might complete every good want and good work.
So that Jesus might be glorified in us and us in Him.
Let’s do it.
Let’s constantly pray for each other.
What could be more encouraging than that?
In fact, let’s do it right now.
***
1 Thessalonians
01. "To the Church of the Thessalonians" - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
02. "We Loved You So Much" - 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
03. "You Are Our Glory and Joy" - 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13
04. "Do This More and More" - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
05. "Encourage Each Other With These Words" - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
06. “We Belong to the Day” - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
07. "To Each Other and To Everyone Else" - 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15
08. "This Is God's Will For You" - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28
2 Thessalonians
09. "In Every Good Deed and Word" - 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
[Bonus Historical Message: "Forever: Hell" - 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, October 30, 2005]
