When it is said
Pray it for a friend who lives far away, or for anyone you miss and hope to see again.
It also suits a friend you are hoping to visit, since its first line asks God to clear the way.
Where it comes from
Author known
Sent away by night
Paul preached in Thessalonica, where some came to believe. Then a crowd set the city in an uproar and dragged some of the new believers before the rulers. At once the believers sent Paul away to Berea by night (Acts 17:1-10). He later wrote that he had been torn from them in person but not in heart, and that he had tried more than once to come back (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18).
The Acts of the Apostles in the King James Version, on eBible.org; The King James Version, on eBible.org
The news that led to the prayer
Paul sent Timothy to strengthen them. Timothy returned with good news of their faith and love, and told Paul that they longed to see him just as much as he longed to see them (1 Thessalonians 3:1-6). Paul wrote back that he was praying night and day to see them face to face. The prayer comes straight after those words (1 Thessalonians 3:10-13).
The Scripture in it
Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you. And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows, so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.
In Greek
Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ ἡμῶν καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς κατευθύναι τὴν ὁδὸν ἡμῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς·
ὑμᾶς δὲ ὁ Κύριος πλεονάσαι καὶ περισσεύσαι τῇ ἀγάπῃ εἰς ἀλλήλους καὶ εἰς πάντας, καθάπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς,
εἰς τὸ στηρίξαι ὑμῶν τὰς καρδίας ἀμέμπτους ἐν ἁγιωσύνῃ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ.
From the Patriarchal Greek text of 1904, on Elpenor (ellopos.net).