Matthew Poole and continuators on 1 Thessalonians 3:11

11 Now God himself, and our Father , and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way unto you .

Here his Prayer is exprest, the persons to whom he prayes is God himself, personally considered as God the Father, and relatively, when he stiles him our Father; so ought beleivers to address themselves to God not absolutely, but as to their Father. So Christ taught his Disciples to pray, Our Father; and so the Spirit of Adoption doth prompt the Saints to pray: we come to God with greater freedom and confidence when we can come to him as a Father.

And he prayes also to Christ, whom he stiles our Lord Iesus Christ. Whence we may have an argument that Christ is God, else he could not be the object of divine Worship, not that we are to present our Prayers distinctly to the Son without considering his Union with the Father, nor to the father distinctly from the Son, but to the Father in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. For so only we can consider him as our Father in Prayer. And he speaks of Christ also in his relation to his people, our Lord Iesus Christ,

And the thing he Prays for, is, that God would direct his way unto them, that the hindrances of Satan whatsoever they were might be removed, and the Providence of God open him a way to come to them: the word direct signifies in the Greek to make straight, and 2 Thess: 3.5. is applyed to the heart. The Lord direct your hearts, &c. which is setting the heart straight towards God, answering to the Hebrew word Iashar, which signifies to be upright, and is often used in the Old Testament. The French read it, address our way. And hence we learn our Duty by the Apostles practise to pray to have our way in all cases directed by God.

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