Christians: does "always" mean literally always?

Question

1 Thessalonians 5

16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Christian fellow believers, do these verses mean that Christians are literally to pray continually and literally be joyful always, or is it figurative, meaning whenever possible? I interpret these verses to mean keep a cheerful disposition and positive attitude, and devote all you do to God, not to literally pray continually, because deeds are indeed a form of prayer if devoted to God. Can someone with more Bible knowledge than me confirm if my guess is correct? (Better still, can someone with knowledge of ancient Greek and access to the ancient Greek texts explain the meaning in an etymological context?)

Thanks, and may God's peace be upon you.

Answer 1

The definition of that greek word means:
at all times, always, ever

Joyful means:
to rejoice, be glad
to rejoice exceedingly
to be well, thrive
in salutations, hail!
at the beginning of letters: to give one greeting, salute


This does not mean that we will not know sorrow, strife, or sadness, but that in all things, we should rejoice the Lord who is our strength.

Basically, its a letter written to Christians to encourage each other and stay strong in the Lord. Then it gives a checklist of how to accomplish that:

11 So encourage each other and give each other strength, just as you are doing now. 12 Now, brothers and sisters, we ask you to appreciate those who work hard among you, who lead you in the Lord and teach you. 13 Respect them with a very special love because of the work they do. Live in peace with each other. 14 We ask you, brothers and sisters, to warn those who do not work. Encourage the people who are afraid. Help those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 Be sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to do what is good for each other and for all people.

16 Always be joyful. 17 Pray continually, 18 and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not hold back the work of the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecy as if it were unimportant. 21 But test everything. Keep what is good, 22 and stay away from everything that is evil.

Answer 2

Hi Smiley, I think you have it nailed,can I add a little something to this, keep a cheerful and joyful disposition always, as you have the light of Christ within you,
Devote all you do to God because you are an Heir to His kingdom
Be a living prayer and walk in humility with God, as you hold within you the treasure of the kingdom.

God bless you too.

Answer 3

Dear Friend,

You should pray when you feel that the Holy Spirit is prompting you too. When Paul says 'be joyful always' he is stating his wishes for the people of Thessalonia, Being Joyful is the natural result of having a personal relationship with God.

I hope this answers your question, peace be with you.

Your fellow servent in Christ

Answer 4

Two of the most common problems people encounter when reading the Bible are:

1) Understanding/Interpreting a verse or section within the greater context of the whole.
and,
2) Misunderstanding the usage of figures of speech (hyperbole) by Jewish authors (a hyperbole is a literary device used to exaggerate/amplify something for effect).

Thus, it is clearly the intent of the Apostle to use a hyperbole in the verse you quoted, as a means underscoring his point. "Always" & "continually" therefore would be tatamount to saying: "as much as humanly possible...and then some!"

Answer 5

always does mean always--joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit--see Galatians 5:22 & 23--as such it is not a emotion, it's more of a inner contentment which can be expressed the same way as happiness in laughter & cheerfulness. Praying continually means to make prayer a lifestyle or habit, not to neglect it. Giving thanks in all circumstances means to have an attitude of thankfulness to God in every situation because no matter how bad things look He is always withus to see us through. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

I take it literally meaning that in everything I do I do it with a prayer, and I look for the good and the joy in every life's circumstance. We aren't really able to do it always, but the more we do, the more easier it becomes when we do it.

Answer 7

Christian Fundamentalists, Baptists and/or evangelical Christians, often condemn the Catholic church as being non-Christian. This is almost uniquely American and originated in the deep south before and after the Civil War. The KKK is Christian and anti-Jew, anti-Catholic and anti-black due to animosities towards the northerners. Most white southerns resented the religions of the north for preventing the spread of slavery, which adversely affected their lucrative slave labor ownership and trade.

Answer 8

It is possible to feel joy without feeling happy. Joy is something which wells up from deep inside the believer, even in adverse circumstances. http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:oCDLH_zee0kJ:serbal.pntic.mec.es/~cmunoz11/kierke.pdf+joy+kierkegaard&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us
Kierkegaard in his discourse on joy describes the momentariness of the lily and the bird. They obey God in their simplicity even though their existence is transitory. But they also rejoice.

"Does not the whole creation groan under the corruption to which it was subjected against its will? It is all of it subjected to corruption! The stars, firmly as they are fixed in heaven, yea, even that which is fixed most firmly, shall none the less change place by falling, and that which never changed its place shall nevertheless one day change by toppling into the abyss; and all this world with all that is within it shall be changed as one changes a garment when it is put off, a prey to corruption!... This is the groan—for to be subjected to corruption is what a groan signifies: to be in confinement, in bondage, in prison. And the content of the groan is: Corruption, corruption!

And yet the lilies of the field and the birds of the air are unconditionally joyful....

This joy is achieved by being in the moment. The lily, if it knows that it will soon fade after it blooms, is joyful because it enjoys the present.

What is joy? or what is it to be joyful? It is to be present to oneself; but to be truly present to oneself is this thing of 'today', that is, this thing of being today, of truly being today. And in the same degree that it is more true that thou art today, in the same degree that thou art quite present to thyself in being today, in that very same degree is the baleful tomorrow non-existent for thee. Joy is the present tense, with the whole emphasis upon the present.

Then let the heavens fall and the stars change their place in the overturning of all things, let the bird die and the lily fade—yet thy joy in worship outlives, and thou in thy joy dost outlive, even now today, every destruction."

So we are speaking of an attitude, a way of life which is an act of worship to the creator.

About giving thanks in all circumstances, Corrie ten Boom had something to say in her autobiographical book "The Hiding Place". She was suffering acutely from the fleas in the bunks at Buchenwald concentration camp and her sister Bessie took her to task over giving thanks in all circumstances. She applied herself to giving thanks for the fleas and was rewarded by the realisation that the fleas kept the camp guards at bay so that she and Bessie could hold services in the ward without being disturbed by the authorities.

Answer 9

to constantly be joyful is God's will for our lives

Answer 10

It means "constantly engage in positive self-talk in order to more deeply reinforce the indoctrination to which you have been subjected."

repetition works
repetition works
repetition works