We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
What difficulties have your friends been through? What are they going through now? Life is hard, as we all know, and it’s easy to miss that there are a lot of amazing people out there.
The church in Thessalonica during the time of Paul was riddled with persecution.* The largest and most important city of Macedonia at the time, its diverse population consisted of Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians.* This diverse population likely created a diverse church.* Though the exact persecutions and their sources are unknown, we do know from context that they endured persecution, ostracism, and hardship.* Perhaps their persecution came from the communities they left to follow Christ (Greek, Roman, Jewish communities).
How did the church in Thessalonica respond? They responded by representing Christ well. Though times were hard for the church, Paul noticed that they lived lives of the faith, hope, and love.* Faith, hope, and love appear many times in Scripture (Romans 5:2–5; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Galatians 5:5–6; Colossians 1:4–5; Hebrews 6:10–12; 10:22–24; 1 Peter 1:21–22).* Some argue that the qualities of faith, hope, and love are the qualities of a good Christian.*
Paul states in this verse that he prays constantly for them and thanks God for them. He doesn’t stop with prayer, however. Paul goes a step further and tells them how he feels by writing this letter!
When was the last time you prayed continuously (consistently and passionately) for a friend, giving thanks to God for them? When was the last time you told a friend how you really feel about them?
I recently had a friend come to my home for a visit. They looked me in the eye and told me the good qualities of the Lord that they saw in me. I needed to hear it. I needed the encouragement. Sure, I need all the prayers that my friend prays without me knowing about them, but knowing that he prays and knowing why he prays means a lot.
I’m grateful for my friend and his family. They are full of faith, hope, and love, despite the difficulties that they have been through. I aspire to pray for them even more consistently and passionately.
The more I think about the people I love and the more I think about their hearts for Christ, I’m grateful. I’m grateful for who they are and for all of the times that they have encouraged me.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to pray for a friend. Perhaps God wants you to walk in gratitude for the Godly people He placed in your life. Perhaps it’s time to tell the people you love and are grateful for that you are grateful for them and are praying for them.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Holmes, M. (1998). 1 and 2 Thessalonians (pp. 48–49). Zondervan Publishing House.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (pp. 56–60). Zondervan.
Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (pp. 87–91). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Kim, S., & Bruce, F. F. (2023). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (D. B. Capes, Ed.; Second Edition, Vol. 45, pp. 141–148). Zondervan Academic.
Morris, L. (1984). 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An introduction and commentary (Vol. 13, pp. 43–45). InterVarsity Press.
Beale, G. K. (2003). 1–2 Thessalonians (pp. 45–49). InterVarsity Press.
Weima, J. A. D. (2014). Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1–2 Thessalonians (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.; pp. 81–89). Baker Academic.
Guyer, M. S. (2016). Thessalonian. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, L. Wentz, E. Ritzema, & W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Lexham Press.