Passage
Beloved, I desire that in all things thou shouldest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.
3 John 1:2 (DBY)
Nearby Context
3 John 1:1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
3 John 1:2 Beloved, I desire that in all things thou shouldest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.
3 John 1:3 For I rejoiced exceedingly when [the] brethren came and bore testimony to thy [holding fast the] truth, even as *thou* walkest in truth.
3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than these things that I hear of my children walking in the truth.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "all things", "beloved", "desire", "thou", "shouldest", "prosper", "health", and "even". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "all things" and "beloved", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 1's "The elder to the beloved Gaius whom..." into verse 3's "For I rejoiced exceedingly when the brethren...", so "all things" and "beloved" belong inside that flow. In 3 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "all things" and "beloved" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.