‘To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of goodness and every work of faith with power, 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.'
Having in mind the glory that is to be theirs Paul now assures them that that is why he and his companions can continually pray for them in full confidence. And their prayer is that God, counting them worthy of their calling (compare 2 Thessalonians 1:5), will empower them to fulfil every desire of goodness and every work of faith. That He will work in them to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13) so that their seeking after righteousness will be fulfilled, and their believing, and its fruit, will grow more and more. For those who are ‘called' by Him, it is His work within them that results in progression in righteousness and goodness, and in the faith as He puts the desire within them.
‘Every desire (literally ‘good pleasure') of goodness.' As it is the good pleasure of His people to reveal His goodness through them, so He will fill their good pleasure to the full.
‘Every work of faith.' Compare 1 Thessalonians 1:3. True faith ever produces ‘work', activity in the name of Christ whether social or spiritual, and Paul's prayer is that through the power of God that work, wrought through faith, may be successful and fruitful.
‘That the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him.' The name signifies the fullness of what a person is, so that the first end of this is that the Lord Jesus might receive glory continually through the splendour of their lives and behaviour, and finally be marvelled at, at His coming, because of what He has wrought in them. The second is that they themselves may be glorified in Him, not in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of His people and the heavenly host.
‘According to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.' All this will be the result of the grace of God, the unmerited love and favour of God and the Lord Jesus Christ at work on them and within them. The ‘our' introduces a strong sense of belonging as in 2 Thessalonians 1:11.