‘Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified, even as also with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men. For all have not the faith.'
Paul the seeks their prayers continually, not for himself and his needs, but for the effectiveness of the Gospel through his ministry. As with the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) the concentration is on the setting apart of God's name through the establishing of His Kingly Rule and the doing of His will, not on ourselves.
‘That the word of the Lord may run and be glorified.' The picture is of the word of the Lord going out with speed and vigour (Psalms 147:15), and being so effective that it receives the respect and honour due to it. We can compare Isaiah 55:11-13. It effectively brings about His purposes. ‘The word of the Lord' may signify ‘the teaching and truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ', or alternately ‘the teaching and truth that came from Him', or indeed both. It would include the Scriptures for they were the inspired source of the truth about Him. Paul longs for it to be swiftly and powerfully successful everywhere, as it had been among the Thessalonians, ‘as also with you'.
‘And that we may be delivered from the unreasonable and evil men. For all have not the faith.' His second prayer is for deliverance, not for his own sake but so that the word of God may go forward. ‘The unreasonable and evil men' indicates those who seek to prevent the spread of the Gospel by underhand tactics. Every dirty trick was being played against him. Any method to hand was employed to get rid of him. The word for ‘unreasonable' signifies something that is ‘out of place'.
‘For all have not the faith (or ‘do not have faith'). The ambiguity is not important as to have faith always meant holding the faith. They have not responded to the truth presented and therefore they are not believers. Instead they have believed the lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11), and reveal it in their behaviour. That it has within it the thought of faithfulness to God is suggested by the contrast with God's faithfulness in 2 Thessalonians 3:3. He may thus have very much in mind the persecutions by the Jews that he was facing, as he had also faced them in Thessalonika. We must remember his method of going into the synagogues to preach as a Rabbi. This inevitably aroused conflict in those who would not respond to the truth and who thus rejected the new covenant.