A prayer for deliverance from wicked and evil men

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, ² and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. ³ But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. ⁴ And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. ⁵ May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Does it make sense to accept a mission assignment that promises lots of pain with the hope of significant success in the mission? When the Lord called the Apostle Paul, he was informed of the suffering he would endure. “But the Lord said to him (Ananias), “Go, for he (Paul) is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. ¹⁶ For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Most present-day “apostles” look lustily at the “Gentiles and kings” part of Paul’s mission and lust for the fame it can bring. They completely overlook the “For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” part. Paul’s experience proved the accuracy of the prophetic word that was brought to him by Ananias. As an aside, I believe all of God’s gifts to the church are extant. However, I am very suspicious of any who claim the title of apostle. Any whom I know personally that I would look upon as being apostolic eschew the term for themselves. ¹

To understand much of what Paul writes in his epistles, we must recall the context in which it was written. Paul is writing his second letter to the Thessalonians shortly after the first. It was only a couple of years since he had been with them and first preached the gospel to them. It is believed that Paul is writing from Corinth, just a few miles south of Thessalonica. Paul came to Philippi on his second missionary journey. After being beaten with rods and jailed, he and Silas were asked to leave Philippi and came to Thessalonica. (Acts 16-17) As usual, Paul went to the synagogue first, where many Jews believed the message that Jesus is the Messiah. Many Gentiles also believed the message. But the unbelieving Jews were jealous and instigated a riot and had Paul run out of town. So, his stay in Thessalonica was brief but fruitful.

So, with this background, we have this two-pronged prayer request from Paul. He asks for prayer that the word of the Lord would speed ahead and be honored as it had among the Thessalonians. This is the request we usually take from this passage. “Lord, let the gospel spread to the nations quickly.” That is a good and honorable prayer and one we should pray.

In the West, we don’t often take note of the other request. Paul asks for prayer “that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men.” Historically, since Christianity has been dominant in the West, there hasn’t been persecution like Paul and his cohorts experienced. That may be changing in the not-too-distant future. Other parts of the world look much more like Paul’s experience. The church in parts of Africa, India, Pakistan, China, North Korea, Iran, and others is under intense persecution. We in the United States are watching as more intense pressure is being applied to us to drive the church underground and out of the public square.

We may be called upon to decide what we will be willing to suffer for his name’s sake. I do pray as we are instructed in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This is akin to Paul’s request that we pray to be delivered from wicked and evil men. In this context, I believe he is referring mainly to the unbelieving Jews who were constantly fighting against the gospel. It also included their Gentile rabble, whom they could manipulate against the gospel.

It is not popular in America to say that any person is wicked or evil. But there are wicked and evil people in America, and we should pray that those who proclaim the gospel will be delivered from these evil people and the evil one (Satan and his minions) who energize all of this anti-Christian behavior. Paul identifies these wicked and evil men as not having faith. Despite our efforts to share the good news, some do not have faith and will not repent and believe.

All humans are totally depraved; that is, every part of our person is tainted by sin; no part of us is not affected. That does not, however, mean every human is wicked and evil. Those terms seem to be reserved for people who are actively hostile to the gospel and the people of God, the persecutors. This is another level of depravity.

Paul gives some good advice in this sometimes bloody battle for the salvation of men’s souls. While it would be easy when under persecution to become bitter, he says, “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” May God give us grace to focus on God’s love for ourselves and those we want to reach. May he direct us to see the steadfastness of Christ, who voluntarily suffered great persecution and death on our behalf, to redeem us and all who will repent and believe the gospel.

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

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1. I do not believe that there is new revelation of truth that is to be placed on equal footing with Scripture. In that sense, there are no Apostles today, but there are apostles who are willing to suffer for his name and are taking the gospel to places where the gospel has never been preached, and the church has never been planted. It is my observation that most who claim the title apostle are not, in fact, apostles. They are wannabes.