3:4
Paul is praying for them not because he thinks they are failing in anyway, but so that they will be strengthened all the more. All of us are totally dependent upon God for our strength. A great danger is that when we do things well because of the grace of God at work in our lives, we start to think that it is because of our own goodness. We then start to rely upon ourselves rather than God. God warned the Israelites not to think they had been given the Promised Land because of any intrinsic merit of their own (Deut 9:4).
3:5
Paul finishes this prayer by asking that the Lord will direct their hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. God’s love for us is to be the foundation of our lives, it is to be the underlying thought that guides us and forms our worldview. We are also to have perseverance, Christ’s perseverance. Christ faced many obstacles, but He overcame them all, and kept going. In the Revelation letters the reward is for those who overcome. Facing opposition and difficulties is normal.
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