Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, (12) that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2:1  Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,  (2) not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

The Second letter to the Thessalonians was written by the Apostle Paul to correct false ideas about the Second Coming of Christ that had arisen in that church.  Paul had founded the church in Thessalonica but stiff opposition had forced him to flee that city.   He had sent back  his young disciple Timothy to find out what the conditions were and received an encouraging report to which he responded with his 1st letter to the faithful at Thessalonica.  Soon after that Paul wrote the 2nd letter to the Thessalonians to correct any misunderstandings about the end times – the second coming of Christ – and to counter false teachings and/or fraudulent letters written to them in Paul’s name.

The main point of the letter is in chapter 2, verse 2:  an exhortation by Paul that the saved not be alarmed by the expectation of the speedy second coming of Christ – that despite persecution the Christians were enduring, there would be an even greater age of trouble before the second coming.  Paul had not meant that the second coming was immanent, nor did he write what appears to be a fraudulent letter saying this – but something caused this alarm and there was a deliberate attempt to panic the Christians at Thessalonica.

Paul again speaks of his prayers for the faithful – we need continual help to reach our goal.  He speaks of the end times and  the perseverance needed to run this marathon.  The gracious purpose of God is the calling to salvation for the faithful and it all has its founding in the good pleasure of God – not by our merits but free grace through faith.