“We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;”
My Notes
What Does 1 Thessalonians 1:2 Mean?
Paul opens 1 Thessalonians with gratitude: "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers." The gratitude is comprehensive ("for you all"—no exceptions), continuous ("always"—not occasionally), and expressed ("making mention"—spoken aloud in prayer). Paul doesn't just feel thankful. He tells God about specific people he's grateful for.
The phrase "making mention of you in our prayers" reveals that Paul's prayer life included naming specific people and expressing gratitude for them before God. The prayers weren't generic. They were specific—individual people mentioned by name, with specific reasons for thanksgiving. Paul's intercessory prayer was relational, not abstract.
The combination of "always" and "all" eliminates selectivity: Paul thanks God for every Thessalonian believer, every time he prays. Not just the impressive ones. Not just the easy ones. All. Always. The gratitude is as comprehensive as the community it covers and as constant as the prayer life it inhabits.
Reflection Questions
- 1.When was the last time you thanked God for specific people in your life—by name, with specific gratitude?
- 2.Does your prayer life start with requests or with thanks? What would change if it started the way Paul's does?
- 3.Paul thanked God for 'all' of them—no exceptions. Are there people you pray for but never thank God for?
- 4.If expressed gratitude for specific people was your prayer entry point, how would that reshape your intercession?
Devotional
"We give thanks to God always for you all." Always. All. No exceptions in frequency or in coverage. Paul thanks God for every single Thessalonian every single time he prays. The gratitude isn't selective or seasonal. It's comprehensive and constant.
The detail about "making mention" means Paul named them in prayer. Not a generic "bless the Thessalonians." Specific people. Specific gratitude. He brought their names before God the way you'd bring photographs to a friend: look at these people. I'm grateful for them. Every one.
This models something most prayer lives lack: expressed gratitude for specific people. Not just praying for their needs—thanking God for their existence. Not just interceding about their problems—celebrating their presence. How often do you thank God for the specific people in your life? Not request things for them—thank God for them?
Paul's gratitude was the entry point to every prayer session. Before the requests. Before the intercession. Before the theology. Thanks. For specific people. Always. All. If your prayer life starts with needs and never reaches gratitude—if the people in your life get your prayer requests but not your prayer thanks—Paul's opening to the Thessalonians reshapes the rhythm: start with thanks. For them. By name. Always.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
We give thanks to God always for you all,.... For all the members of this church, Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, greater…
We give thanks to God always for you all - see the notes, Rom 1:9. Making mention of you in our prayers - See the notes…
We give thanks - See Phi 1:3, Phi 1:4, and Col 1:3; where the same forms of speech are used.
I. The apostle begins with thanksgiving to God. Being about to mention the things that were matter of joy to him, and…
We give thanks to God always for you all "We," i.e. the three above named. Here, as in Php 1:4, he has thankfulness and…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture