First of All, Pray

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. – 1 Timothy 2:1-7 ESV

This chapter is filled with familiar verses around which some have built entire doctrines regarding the church. In many cases, they have ignored the context while focusing on a single concept or idea. But we have to remember that Paul was giving his young disciple, Timothy, instructions regarding his ministry among the people in Ephesus. The focus of this entire chapter appears to be the gospel and the environment in which it thrives and spreads most effectively.

Certain activities and circumstances can hinder the gospel’s impact and make the good news of Jesus Christ difficult to understand. Well-meaning Christians can also conduct themselves in ways that discredit their role as messengers of the gospel. Paul’s primary emphasis in this chapter is the salvation of others, and that is what he is trying to communicate to Timothy. Everything else he deals with becomes the context in which the spread of the gospel flourishes.

He begins with an admonition to pray. Prayer is not a magic formula or secret weapon believers use to get what they want from God; it is intimate communication with their Heavenly Father. The ability to speak directly with God is a privilege every one of His children enjoys.  As the church, we are the people of God and, as such, we should always have a Godward focus in our thinking. Paul tells Timothy to pray for all people and even suggests what to pray. 

Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. – 1 Timothy 2:1 NLT

Paul actually lists four different aspects of prayer: supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings. Paul chose each word carefully because, in the Greek language in which he penned this letter, each word has a specific meaning that helps illustrate the rich depth that should mark our communication with God.

"Supplications" is the Greek word deeseis, and it carries the idea of determination and earnestness based on a conviction of the need. As believers, we understand that every human being has one primary and pressing need: to know Jesus. When we pray to God on behalf of others, our primary concern should be their salvation. Whatever their perceived or expressed need may be, only a saving relationship with Jesus Christ will truly transform their life. Those who receive healing from sickness but remain unsaved are still under the condemnation of death and face eternal separation from God. To pray for someone’s financial well-being without having a concern for their spiritual health would be short-sighted and, ultimately, unhelpful.

The word "prayers" is the Greek word proseuchas, a more general term that covers all communication with our Heavenly Father. Its focus is on Him, not the one for whom we are praying. We are to lift up all men to God, placing them in His hands and under His care, trusting that He knows what they need. The content of our prayer is less important than the identity of the one to whom we pray. Our requests are based on His character, focused on His faithfulness, and fully dependent upon His power.

"Intercession" (enteuxeis) seems to cover the specific requests we make on behalf of others. When we become aware of a need or circumstance in another person’s life, we are to take it to the Lord. Interceding on their behalf requires that we converse with God about the matter, sharing our concern for their needs. This is a selfless act of love and compassion done for the benefit of someone other than ourselves. Jesus modeled intercession when He prayed in the garden on the night of His betrayal.

“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you…protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.… I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.… Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.… I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” – John 17:9, 11, 15, 17,  21 NLT

Finally, "thanksgiving" (eucharistias) conveys the idea that our prayers are to be characterized by gratefulness. But in this context, Paul suggests that we thank God for the ones we are praying for, including all men, not just some. Again, Paul’s focus is on God. To thank God for someone we would normally be unthankful for is to express trust in His sovereignty; it reveals that we know He is in charge and has a purpose for that person's presence in our life. With this call to unbiased thankfulness, Paul reflects Jesus' words.

“Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” – Matthew 5:44-45 NLT

Prayer is not meant to be formulaic or ritualistic. It is to be marked by a variety and intensity of style and content, with the focus always on God.

Paul goes on to instruct Timothy that the prayers of God's people are to include kings and all those in authority. These people are sometimes the most difficult to pray for. But Paul emphasizes God using these people to help create an atmosphere in which believers might "live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity" and the Gospel might prosper and spread. Why? Because God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. His desire is that all men hear that "there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone" (1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT). So pray!

But Paul wants Timothy to know that certain things can hinder our prayers and destroy our witness as believers. He mentions anger and controversy. Jesus Himself warned us that "if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God" (Matthew 5:23-24 NLT). Reconciliation and restoration of the relationship is far more important to God than adherence to a set of religious rituals. 

Disunity can derail our prayer lives, but so can our actions. Our behavior among those for whom we are praying can powerfully affect whether they eventually experience the salvation they desperately need. So, Paul encouraged Timothy to make prayer a high priority in his life and ministry and, in doing so, he echoed the words of James.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
– James 5:16 NLT 

Father, thank You for the gracious gift of prayer. Through Jesus, You opened a line of communication that not only allows us to talk to You, but to hear from You. Yet, for too much of my life, I have tended to neglect this lifeline to Your throne room. For the most part, my prayer life ebbs and flows based on my circumstances. When things are going well, the frequency and fervency of my prayers diminish. But when things take a turn for the worse, I became a praying machine, casting all my cares on You because I have run out of options and desperately need Your help. But what Paul told Timothy about prayer is what I needed to hear. My prayer life not only needs to become more active, but also more diverse and other-oriented. I can easily turn prayer into a one-sided monologue where I communicate my needs to You and then wait for Your response. But Paul suggests a more well-rounded, selfless form of prayer that focuses on who You and all those for whom Your Son sacrificed His life. Open my eyes to see the true purpose and power of prayer. I don’t want to pray because I need to, but because I want to. I have been given me the privilege of communicating with You and I don’t want to take it for granted. Amen. 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Beyond Imagination.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV Ephesians 3:14-21

Sometimes our prayers lack faith. We ask, but we don't really believe anything is going to happen. We talk, but we don't expect to hear anything in return. We share, but it feels as if our words disappear into a black hole. But would have us remember that the effectiveness of our prayers are based on the faithfulness of our God, not us. He closes out his prayer for the Ephesian believers with a benediction that focuses on the unfathomable faithfulness and power of our God. He is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.” God is not limited by the limitations of our prayers. The very same power that is at work within us is quite capable of exceeding our expectations and answering our requests, even when we fail to make them. Paul knows that we have divine assistance. We have the Holy Spirit within us. “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words” (Romans 8:26 NLT). And the Holy Spirit provides us with something we don't have on our own – an intimate awareness of the mind and heart of God. “No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:11 NLT). So the Spirit prays on our behalf. He knows the will of God perfectly. He understands the heart of God intimately. So He prays for us. And the answers are “infinitely more than we might ask or think” (New Living Translation).

And when God answers even our unspoken prayers, He gets the glory. His power gets revealed through our lives and the body of Christ, His church. God is at work in the lives of and the circumstances surrounding His people. He is accomplishing things we have not even asked to happen. He is performing miracles we didn't even think to request. And on those occasions when we do make requests, the answers come, but often in ways we didn't expect. Rather than giving us what we asked for, He provided what we really needed. We asked for happiness, but He gave us an opportunity to increase in holiness. We asked for comfort, but He provided a perfect environment in which to learn contentment. We asked for healing, but He chose to provide us with a chance to learn to experience His grace even in the midst of weakness.

In one of his other prayers, recorded in the book of Colossians, Paul requested that God would, “give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9 NLT). The end result of this knowledge of God's will would be that they would grow to know God better and better. When we grow in our knowledge of God, we are able to pray more effectively and in keeping with His will. We will desire what He desires. We will request those things which He longs to give. But in the meantime, in those moments when we don't know what to pray for, or make requests for things we don't really need, God answers anyway. His Spirit prays on our behalf and God answers, lovingly and faithfully. All for His glory and our good. “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:9-12 NLT). The Spirit is our helper. He is our advocate. He intercedes on our behalf, making requests to God that reflect the heart of God. He knows God's deep secrets. He has an insider's understanding of God's plan and always prays in accordance with it. So does all this mean that there is no need for us to pray? Are we to just leave that up to the Holy Spirit? The obvious answer is, “No!” We have been commanded to pray. “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6 NLT). “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV). We are to pray expectantly and constantly. We are to ask of God because it expresses our dependence upon Him. But Paul would have us remember that even when we are unfaithful to pray, God is answering. He doesn't stop giving just because we stopped asking. And He gives in ways that are beyond our wildest imaginations. He has our best in mind. Our holiness is His highest priority. Our transformation into the likeness of His Son is His ultimate objective. But let us never forget that prayer is really less about us than it is about God. We should long to see His glory revealed. We should desire to His power displayed. We should pray that His will be done and His Kingdom come – in our lives and on this earth. Because He knows best.

Stay Focused.

Philippians 4:1-9

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. – Philippians 3:8 NLT

As Paul begins to wrap up his letter to the Philippian believers, he summarizes his thoughts and gives them one last set of directives. He had a special affection for these people and wanted to see them grow and prosper in their relationship with Christ and one another. They were under constant pressure from the Judaizers to compromise their freedom in Christ and submit to Jewish laws and rituals as a means of earning favor with God. Paul vehemently stood against that heresy. But on the other end of the spectrum, they were being encouraged by the antinomians (anti-law), to reject any kind of moral law whatsoever and give in to self-indulgence. Both extremes were wrong and dangerous to the well-being of the church. So Paul urges them to maintain their focus. He doesn't want them to get distracted from what is truly important.

First of all, he calls for unity, and he uses two specific individuals as examples of disunity within the local body of Christ. He appeals to them to settle their dispute because they belong to God. Their mutual disagreement with one another was to take a back seat to their common bond in Christ. Loving one another as fellow believers was more important than being right. They were to find their joy in the Lord, not in winning a dispute or being proven right. He would rather they be known for their reasonableness and consideration than their resilience in winning an argument. Paul reminds them, and the other readers of his letter, not to forget that the Lord is going to return some day. They were to stay focused on what was really important, because on that day, all disputes and arguments are going to seem petty and unimportant.  And they were to replace their worry and anxiety with prayer. If they had a need, they were to take it to God. If they had anything happening among them that was disrupting their unity, they were to bring the matter to Him, praying for one another and thanking God for all He had done for them. As a result, they would experience the peace of God, a supernatural calm in the midst of the storm, protecting their hearts and minds from harmful influences. I can't help but think that Paul had in mind Isaiah 26:3, which says, "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!"

That seems to be the point of this entire section of Paul's letter, because he goes on to say, "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise" (Philippians 4:8 NLT). It would seem that Paul is encouraging his readers to keep their minds focused on God and all that He has done and is going to do for them. Rather than worry about the things of this world, they were to focus on the world to come, the one that God had promised and was preparing for them. Rather than argue over worldly issues and concerns, they were to fix their thoughts on heavenly ones. It was a matter of focus and priorities. This world is full of distractions and plenty of things to take our eyes off of God. We can easily be persuaded that He is not enough and that this world offers us the things we really want and need. But Paul would argue that the things of this earth are nothing compared to what is to come. Materialism is no match for what God has in store for us. This temporary world can't compare to the eternity we will spend with God and His Son. So keep your focus. The author of the letter to the Hebrews shared this same sentiment. "…let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne" (Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT). When Paul tells us to fix our thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable, he is telling us to stay focused on God. Nothing in this world has those attributes. No one in this world shares those characteristics. They are the essence of God Himself. What is true is to be found in God alone. What is right will be found in Him who is righteous alone. Whatever is to be admired in this life will be found in the one who is the source of all life. He is to be our focus in this life, not just in the one to come.

Father, this world can be a distracting place. It is so easy to fix our thoughts and our attentions on the things of this earth, and lose sight of You. Material things can become our fixation. We can end up placing our hope and trust in things that won't last and can't deliver. We can try and find fulfillment and satisfaction in the temporal rather than the eternal. Keep us focused on You. Help us learn how to keep our eyes fixed on Christ. We need the capacity to endure and to finish strong, keeping our eyes on the goal. Amen.