On Prayer (1 Tim. 2:8)

"I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;" (1 Tim. 2:8)

Again, Paul stresses the importance of prayer. An interesting side note is that Paul calls on the men to pray, not the women. How do I know he is not giving this command specifically to women? Because in the next verse, he states, "likewise also that women should...." and gives a specific command to women, which we will visit later. What am I getting at, you may ask? Good question. Of course God desires women to pray, but it seems here Paul is stressing the importance of the men in the church praying and not causing conflict.

When a conflict arises in your life, what do you do? Do you deal with the conflict head on? Do you shy away from the conflict? Do you pray about the conflict?

I submit to you that, biblically, prayer should be our first action. If we are praying the way we are supposed to (without ceasing) then prayer will always be our first response to anything that arises in our life, whether good or bad. An interesting thing about prayer is that we can never pray enough. It's kind of like my golf game. No matter how well (or how bad) I play one day, I know that there is always the possibility of playing better the next time I tee it up. Prayer is similar in this in respect that no matter how much I pray or how meaningful I think my prayers are, I know there is the possibility that I could still pray more, for more people, and for more situations.

Because of this our prayer life will never be complete. Therefore, I've devised a daily prayer plan. Now, there are many of these types of plans available. What I have tried to come up with is a system for busy people. Have you ever gone an entire day and realized, "I haven't prayed at all today...." I'll admit to doing that. Therefore, in order to ensure that I at least have some prayer daily, I've had to give myself a schedule. Because we are instructed to pray for all people (1 Tim. 2:1) I've categorized my prayer list as follows:

Monday:

Family: Emily, my wife
Church: My pastor
Nation: President Bush
Congregation: I pick someone every day

Tuesday:

Family: My son, Jackson
Church: Music minister
Nation: Governor Sanford
Congregation: ditto

Wednesday:

Family: My parents
Church: Youth minister
Nation: Speaker of the House
Congregation: ditto

Thursday:

Family: My sister and her family
Church: A good friend in the ministry
Nation: Senate Majority Leader
Congregation: ditto

Friday:

Family: My in-laws and sister-in-law
Church: A good friend in the ministry
Nation: Presidents of SBC seminaries
Congregation: ditto

Saturday:

Family: Any extended cousins, etc. that come to mind
Church: A good friend in the ministry
Nation: South Carolina's football program (jk) SBC Missionaries that I know and don't know
Congregation: ditto

On Sundays, I'm selfish and ask God to be with me in my teaching, preaching, etc.

Now this list is pretty pathetic if you think about it. But even doing this little amount is better then none at all. And as you pray through this list specifically, God will place other people and situations on your heart and gives at least a little accountability with your prayer life. One of the biggest reasons our spiritual lives are not as good as they can be, is because we do not make ourselves accountable to anyone. Therefore, making yourself accountable to yourself may help just a little.

Saving Truth (1 Tim. 2:3-4)

"This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (v.3-4)

In the two verses preceding these, Paul urges Timothy to make supplications, intercessions, thanksgivings and prayers for all people, even the governing authorities. Why? Paul tells us the reason in verses three and four:

Because doing so is good and it is pleasing to God because He desires all his people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

Notice that Paul did not say that God desired all people to come to a knowledge of a truth. Rather, He is claiming that Christianity is the only truth. This kind of language is what gets a lot of Christians labeled as "intolerant" in today's postmodern culture. Critics say that, instead of claiming to have a monopoly on the only way to salvation, Christians should just accept other peoples' views as being "true to them." Unfortunately, while this idea smells like roses, it tastes like poison. This kind of logic is fallacious and evil. It's fallacious because it is not logical and it is evil because it does not care about the eternity of its fellow man.

The law of non-contradiction, a first principle of logic, states that x cannot equal y.

For instance a Muslim says that Jesus is a prophet who is not God...the Qu'ran says this. A Christian states that Jesus is God...the Bible says this. So, who is right? Well, we may deduce that either (a) Muslims may be right and Christians may be wrong, (b) Christians may be right and Muslims may be wrong, or (c) Muslims and Christians may both be wrong. However, the option that they both could be right is impossible because both religions make exclusive claims.

So the next time someone tells you that you are being intolerant, tell them in response that you are just trying to be logical and find the truth - of which there can only be one...and pray for them after that. Because doing so is pleasing to God who desires all to be saved and come to a knowledge of Him.

Pray For Our Leaders (1 Tim. 2:2)

"...for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." (2:2, ESV)

In verse 1 of chapter 2, Paul urges that Timothy should pray for all men and in the next verse expands on this idea of praying for all men by specifically stating that we should pray for those in high positions.

Christians are often very active in politics. There is merit in being active in the law-making affairs of our country. However, when Christians start to place politics as equal or higher then God, they are committing idolatry in the name of religious freedom. It bothers me when I see African-American churches invite members of the Democratic party to come speak inside the church and to take over the sacred pulpit in order to rally the members to vote for them. It also equally bothers me to see Anglo-American churches invite members of the Republican party to come speak inside their churches and to take over the sacred pulpit in order to rally the members to vote for them.

We must never blur the lines of politics and God...remember, politicians want to help their country but they also need votes in order to keep their jobs.

So what can we do to maintain that we live in a safe and just country? Pray for our leaders. I think most Christians (including myself) believe that prayer works but actively live as if prayer cannot move mountains. We are called to pray with faith and so many times we fail to do so.

Let's pray for President Bush and his advisers that they will make right and just decisions. Let's pray for the Supreme Court in that they will also make wise decisions. Let's also pray for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Harry Reid that they will make careful and wise decisions and protect the sanctity of human life.

Let's thank God for the privilege it is to live in this country and let's pray for its leaders. Prayer is the one action that we can make in politics that will have the highest impact.

Pray For All Men (1 Tim. 2:1)

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men," (2:1)

The beginning of the second chapter in Paul's first letter to Timothy is also the beginning of his official pastoral advice. If we could give advice to a younger brother in the faith, I wonder where we would start? Paul starts with prayer. But Paul does not instruct Timothy to pray for himself, he instructs Timothy to pray for others - not just for believers either, but for ALL men.

Paul urges Timothy to do four things;

1) To make supplications for all men - Making a supplication means to ask God to do something in particular in one's life. Paul tells Timothy to make supplications for other people, thus perhaps asking God to bless other people. What, loving, pastoral advice to ask God to help other people.

2) To make prayers for all men - To pray for all men. Even though Timothy has no idea what other people's problems and issues are he is still instructed to pray for them.

3) To make intercessions for all men - Here is a tricky one. Paul is telling Timothy to intercede for other people on their behalf. God knows that most people (including ministers) do not pray enough. Therefore, it is Timothy's duty, as a minster of the gospel, to see to it that other people are prayed for.

4) To give thanks for all men - When was the last time you thanked God for putting someone who is good to you in your life? Now, when was the last time you (and I) thanked God for putting someone who is evil to you in our life? I have found that when people have criticized me or have been a general thorn in the flesh, it has drawn me closer to God and it has been a wonderful time of spiritual growth. God says to thank Him for putting these people in your life because God wants you to have His strength be made perfect in your weakness.

Let's take Paul's God-breathed advice and pray for all men.