We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. 1 Thessalonians 1:2
How would you like to have these three men praying for you every day? The great apostle and missionary Paul, his faithful missionary companion Silvanus, or Silas, and Paul’s trusted protege Timothy, were all great prayer warriors in their day. The Assembly in Thessalonika were truly blessed to be on the prayer list of this trio. Is your Assembly blessed to be on your prayer list?
The little expression ‘for you all’ tells us much about the prayers of these men. They were not only daily praying for the Assembly as a whole, but were also praying daily for each and every member of that Assembly. We should also do the same. Just as the writers of this letter knew and cared for each of the Thessalonians Christians, so we need to know and care for each of those in our company.
Paul and his companions gave thanks for each Assembly member. Do we do that? Is there something about each of our fellow saints that we appreciate enough to thank God for? If not, we need to discover more about that person who we don’t appreciate. God has added each member for His glory and for our blessing, and we need to acknowledge that.
The epistle authors also made mention of the Assembly and its members. They could do that because they knew those people so well. They knew who had spiritual struggles, who had financial struggles, who had health and family struggles. We need to know these things if we are to pray for our fellow saints and mention their names and prayer needs before the Lord.
It’s a challenge to be a prayer warrior for your Assembly. But it is well worth it. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/qBWs_ww4xPw