
Next, Paul shows that we must pray that the gospel be honored – meaning not only that it be honored despite negative perceptions (such as, in Paul's day, the perception of many of the Jews that the gospel was heresy and of many of the Greeks that it was foolishness), but also that those who hear the word will honor it by accepting it and living by it in their lives (Acts 13:48). Preaching, Paul reminds us, is never enough of itself, and our prayer should be that the word of God is honored as well as heard.