Day 723: Don't underestimate prayer - 1 Thessalonians 1 vs 1 -2

1 (From) Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers. 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2 English Standard Version.

In the days when the apostle Paul arrived in Thessalonica it was the capital and major port of the Roman province of Macedonia. Nowadays it's a thriving city in Northern Greece called Thessaloniki. We see that Paul included the names of Silvanus and Timothy in saying who this letter was from, so it is helpful to know the background and link between the three. Silvanus (also known as Silas) was one of the leaders in the early Church in Jerusalem. He was one of the men sent by the Christians in Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas to confirm an important decision that had been made with regard to gentiles who'd become Christians. Some time later Paul asked Silvanus to join him in visiting congregations where Paul had previously started Churches. (This is all in Acts 15)

One of the towns they went to was Lystra where, on his earlier visit, Paul had been used by God to heal a man who'd been crippled from birth. But it was also the town where some people had tried to stone him to death. Now, on his second visit, they met a young man named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer. Paul invited him to accompany them on their journey. They reached a town called Troas where Paul had a vision of a man from the region called Macedonia saying “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (Acts 16:9) They concluded that the vision was from God and set off for Macedonia.

They came to the city of Philippi where Paul cast out a demon from a slave girl who'd been making her owners lots of money through fortune telling. The infuriated owners stirred up a crowd and Paul and Silvanus were beaten with rods and thrown into prison. But around midnight, as Paul and Silvanus were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them, there was suddenly a great earthquake and the foundations of the prison were shaken and all the doors were opened and everyone's bonds were unfastened. It led to them being released and, reuniting with Timothy, the three of them continued their journey.

Passing briefly through a couple of towns they came to Thessalonica and for three weeks Paul spoke with the Jews in the local synagogue explaining how Jesus was the long awaited Messiah. Some Jews and a large number of devout Greeks believed the gospel and became Christians. But the unbelieving Jews “were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar.” (Acts 17:5) So the new Christians in Thessalonica urged Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to move on to another city, and they went to a place called Berea where they had a warm response from the Jews there. But Jews from Thessalonica followed them and stirred up a mob there as well. As Paul was their main target it was decided that he press on to Athens while Silas and Timothy stayed on in Berea to help the new believers.

I realize this is all history – but it's relevance is that it shows how the New Testament fits together. The events and people we read of in the book of Acts tie in with what we read in the letters of the apostles like Paul, Peter and John. Silvanus was even with Peter when he wrote the letter we call First Peter. Peter ended that letter by saying: “By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I've written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.” (1 Peter 5: 12)

Although Paul and the others sometimes had to move on from places where they'd started Churches, apart from writing letters of help and encouragement, what else did they continue to do for those new Christians? (vs 2)

They kept on praying for them – especially that they would grow in the grace and peace that comes from God through Jesus Christ. We must never think that prayer is meaningless! As Christians let us pray for other believers, even for those in other countries. Feeble as our prayers may seem, God hears and He is strong to answer them.