28/1/01 10.45 a.m. 1 Timothy 2:1-8
2 1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time. 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle - I am telling the truth, I am not lying - and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles. 8 I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
PRAY
There are occasions when Joshua and myself will spend time together, for example we may go to the cinema or a museum with one another. During such excursions he has said to me that, with all due respect to his mum he liked spending time with me. It is important to spend time with those we love to show that they really are precious to us. It isn’t enough to just say someone is important yet not make spending time with them a priority.
At the start of 1 Timothy 2 Paul reminds us that prayer should be a priority in the Christian’s life.
2 1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone.
’First of all’ means that prayer is to be the first priority for the Christian. We are not to treat God like a Doctor or a lawyer, only going to him if we are ill or in trouble.
We could ask in what ways we can pray. We saw some of these two weeks ago when Sean preached on the Lord’s prayer. Here, Paul mentions four ’prayer words’, some of which overlap in their meanings. All of these involve looking to a superior power who has met, and will meet, the needs of ourselves and others.
The word translated ’request’ refers to a need of someone which can be met by God. This reminds us that as our heavenly father God loves us and wants to give us good things, just as a parent likes to give their child gifts. Something we read of in Luke 11 last week.
The word translated ’prayers’ is a general word that refers to all types of prayers, both public and personal. The importance of prayer should result in us making every effort to pray privately and to come together with other Christians to pray. This includes our regular Sunday worship, Tuesday morning prayers at Graham and Dorothy Howe’s home, midweek meetings and as we unite on ’Prayer Clock’ days.
The word translated ’intercession’ has been paraphrased as, ’throwing yourself in with someone’. This shows how we can pray on someone else’s behalf. The word also alludes to a conversation, reminding us that we can chat to God during the day. For example, we may hear the siren of an ambulance or fire engine and send up an arrow prayer for the emergency services and for those they are going to help.
Intercession should be bold, knowing that God is able and willing to answer his children’s prayers. Yet we should also be open to the possibility that we could be able to answer our own prayers, or the prayers of another. For example, a church may be praying about the need for a Church Administrator, yet it could be that there is someone within that congregation who could fill that post.
Similarly, it is of no use if we pray for the growth of this church and for the worship to be lively if we ignore outreach events and come infrequently!
A Canadian Vicar skipped services one Sunday to go bear hunting in the mountains. As he turned the corner along the path, he and a bear collided. The vicar stumbled backwards, slipped off the trail, and began tumbling down the mountain with the bear in hot pursuit. Finally the vicar crashed into a boulder, sending his rifle flying in one direction and breaking both his legs.
As the bear closed in, the vicar cried out in desperation, "Lord, I’m sorry for what I have done. Please forgive me and save me! Lord, please make that bear a Christian."
Suddenly the bear skidded to a halt at the pastor’s feet, fell to its knees, clasped its paws together and said, "For what I am about to receive, may the Lord make me truly grateful."
The last word that Paul uses is ’thanksgiving’. The Greek word is ’eucharisteo’ from which we get the word ’eucharist’, used by some to refer to the Holy Communion service. It is giving thanks to God for all that he has given us and has done for us. This would include the provision of food and drink, our families, friends, and homes. It also includes the free gift of salvation through Jesus, something that Paul refers to in verses 5 and 6.
As Christians we should thank God for all that he gives us, including the gift of food at meal times. It is a continuing reminder to us of God’s love and provision for us. It is also an encouragement to other types of prayer as it reminds us that God answers our prayers and meets our needs
These are some of the ways we should pray. But who should we pray for ?
At the start of this series we read Jesus’ words in Luke 6 that we are to love and pray for our enemies. Here, verse 1 says we are to pray for everyone. This includes our enemies, our leaders, but also our next-door neighbours and our neighbours who live on the other side of the world.
When Paul wrote this letter the cruel Nero was Emperor. He would later put Paul and Peter to death. This shows us that we should pray for our leaders, however wrong they may seem to be.
This week there has been criticism of Peter Mandelson that led to his resignation. I am not defending what he did, but we live in an age where people are ready to criticise any public figure who appears to be imperfect.
J.C.Ryle lived from 1816 -1900 and was the first Bishop of Liverpool. He wrote a number of books including commentaries on the gospels. Over 100 years ago he wrote about this passage; "It is easy to criticise and find fault with the conduct of kings, and write furious articles against them in newspapers, or make violent speeches about them on platforms. Any fool can rip and rend a costly garment, but not every man can cut out and make one. To expect perfection in kings, prime ministers, or rulers of any kind, is senseless and unreasonable. We should exhibit more wisdom if we prayed for them more, and criticised less"
We are approaching a general election. Let this spur us on to pray for our political leaders and for the whole election process. During the lifetime of this Parliament there has been the legalisation of homosexual genital acts for sixteen year olds, the legalisation of the cloning of embryos for experimentation, and a failure to adequately support marriage in a number of areas. For many Christians these are areas of deep concern. Let us pray that during the next Parliament God’s will may be done.
As well as praying for the election result, we should be praying for guidance about who we should vote for, and perhaps lobbying the candidates about how they stand on issues such as those I have just mentioned.
Prayer and pressure can change things. Look how Jubilee 2000 has resulted in the cancellation of some of the Third World debt. This has transformed the lives of people in Uganda where the number of children attending school has risen from 2.3 to 6.2 million because of the $105 million that has been wiped off the country’s debts. Yet we have to keep praying and acting because only a third of the debts have been cancelled and 19,000 children still die every day because of the debts.
Why should we pray for our leaders ?
Verse 2; that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
A peaceful and quiet environment allows Christians to worship and witness in peace. A good government can help to bring this about. We should be thankful that we live in a country where we are free to practice our faith without hindrance. Yet we should also be aware that political correctness can deny us of the rights to uphold the essentials of our faith. For example, the European ’Bill of Rights’ that has recently been adopted does not allow a church to insist that it’s employees are Christians, or to refuse ordination to someone who leads a promiscuous lifestyle.
We should also be aware of, and pray for, Christians who are persecuted for their faith in other parts of the world. Recently there has been violence against Christians in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Praying for peace does make a difference. Some of the young Christians who work in Vacaville prison in California regard themselves as the control apparatus to keep the peace of that prison. When riots threaten or when violence breaks out in the prison, the Christian prisoners gather together and ask themselves, "What has gone wrong with us?" When discord is present among the Christians, they always expect, and almost always see, immediate restlessness in the whole prison. They have learned that God will keep the prison peaceful when the Christians are at peace, and in right relationship with him. That is a very significant confirmation of what the apostle is stressing here.
In fact, one of these men recounted that some months ago the chief psychologist of the California prison system was asked by the Prison Board why was it that Vacaville prison had fewer riots and less trouble than any other prison in the state. The man said, "The only thing I can suggest is that there is a group of Christians up there who pray for Vacaville prison. That may not mean much to you," he said, "but that is what appears to me to make the difference."
Another reason that we should pray is that it is God’s will, and doing it will please him. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
We can pray and should pray because we know Jesus as our Saviour. It is in God’s nature to save people and this is outlined in the next verse 4; who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
Verses 5 and 6 proclaim that it is only through relying upon the mediation of Jesus, who died for everyone, that people can be saved.
God wants everyone to be saved, and Jesus died for everyone. But he also said that the road to life is narrow and only a few find it, Matthew 7:14. The offer is for everyone, but not everyone will accept it. So we cannot assume that everyone is going to heaven. This should encourage us to pray and witness to everyone that we can.
As Sean said two weeks ago, at the start of each day we can take our cue from the Lord’s prayer and ask that God’s name may be hallowed and his will be done in and through our lives.
We should also pray because it works. For the last few weeks we have been praying for Simon Ball, a young man who was diagnosed with a brain tumour at Christmas. This has now been removed successfully, and he has already returned home to recuperate. Please continue to pray for Simon that he may make a full recovery.
We should also pray because it can change us, moulding us into the people that God wants us to be. Bringing our wishes in line with God’s will.
8 I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. Today the traditional pose for prayer is to kneel with hands together. Lifting up hands in prayer is found in the Old and New Testaments. It symbolised moral purity before God and an openness and devotion to him. It is these attitudes, rather than just the posture which Paul is commending.
To be able to have fellowship with God, we must have fellowship with our fellow believers. Jesus referred to this in Matthew 5:23 when he commands someone who is offering a gift at the altar, yet remembers that he has a problem with a fellow believer, to be reconciled before the gift is offered.
It is important that our words and actions go together to show that our faith is real.
At the start of this passage Paul refers to the primary importance of prayer. I think it is appropriate that, at the start of 2001 we should be reminded of this, and devote ourselves anew to personal and corporate prayer.
PRAY
