Wicked people

Hello everyone,

How are you doing on this day? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord.

Primary Text

“And we may be delivered from perverse (improper, unrighteous) and wicked (actively malicious) men, for not everybody has faith and is held by it.” 2 Thessalonians 3v2 (AMP)

“And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith.” 2 Thessalonians 3v2 (NIV)

Apart from requesting from prayer from the Thessalonians that the message of the Lord will spread rapidly and be triumphant, and win converts everywhere it went (2 Thessalonians 3v1), Paul and the writers to the church asked for prayer for deliverance from evil men. Paul for example had his share of this encounter with evil men. The Bible tells us of an episode where certain men conspired to kill Paul. “The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot. They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. Now then, you and the Sanhendrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here” (Acts 23v12-15, NIV). But one comment we see above is that “not everyone has faith.” In fact, we see that before Paul became born again, he thought he was doing the right thing by persecuting the Christians. And as believers in our daily lives, and as we go living lives to glorify God, we have encounters with evil and wicked people. David in the Psalms also spoke of deliverance from wicked people.

Supplementary Text

“Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favourably received by the Lord’s people there,” Romans 15v31 (NIV)

Prayer

Father in heaven, we thank You for Your goodness and faithfulness. From Psalm 7v9 (TLB) we pray “End all wickedness, O Lord, and bless all who truly worship God; for You, the righteous God, look deep within the hearts of men and examine all their motives and their thoughts.” This we pray in Jesus name, amen.