Genuine prayer is unbiased and without prejudice; it’s also deeply personal and very mysterious. Followers of Christ are commanded to pray for their enemies and their friends. They are commanded to pray for those they love being around and those they dislike being around. They are commanded to pray for those who love them and those who hate them. Genuine prayer is completely foreign to the way the world believes. The world curses those who do it wrong, genuine followers of Christ pray for those who do them wrong. Prayer will always be misunderstood by an unbelieving world. Why? Because only those who have an intimate connection with Jesus Christ have an understanding of God’s heart.
Paul writes the letter of 1 Timothy to provide Timothy instructions on how to confront and respond to the false teachers who had infiltrated the church in Ephesus. Thus, after making it clear that the church must return to doctrinal purity Paul wrote this about prayer, “…I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority…” (NASB) (1 Timothy 2:1, 2).
The first thing Paul commands Timothy to do is pray. There is a lot Timothy could do; he could confront the false teachers, he could preach, he could go door to door ensuring people were clear about the doctrine of Christ; nevertheless, Paul calls Timothy to pray first. In fact, Paul commands Timothy to pray in four different ways. First, he was to pray through “entreaties,” which means he was to present to God his needs with the hope of having them met. Second, he was to pray through “prayers,” which we know as the act of calling on God. Third, he was pray using “petitions,” which means he was to have informal and intimate conversations with God at all times, and fourth he was to pray with “thanksgivings,” which meant he was to express gratitude and appreciation in his prayers.
Finally, Paul commands that prayers “be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority.” “All men” means all men and “all men” means everyone. Followers of Christ are to pray for Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, atheists, democrats, republicans; essentially anyone they know who is without salvation. Paul’s intent was that believers are to be concerned with those who are on a path to eternal hell. The challenging part of this verse comes when he calls believers to pray “for kings and all who are in authority.” This is challenging because emotions are involved. This is not a suggestion, this is a command. Believers are commanded to pray for their bosses and anyone in authority, to include the President. Even when believers greatly dislike a President for his beliefs and decisions, and completely disagree with him, they are still commanded to pray for him; just like Paul prayed for the Roman Emperor Nero who was killing Christians when he wrote this letter to Timothy.
Is your heart prepared to pray for “all men?” Complaining won’t change things, but praying will change you and the situation.
Paul writes the letter of 1 Timothy to provide Timothy instructions on how to confront and respond to the false teachers who had infiltrated the church in Ephesus. Thus, after making it clear that the church must return to doctrinal purity Paul wrote this about prayer, “…I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority…” (NASB) (1 Timothy 2:1, 2).
The first thing Paul commands Timothy to do is pray. There is a lot Timothy could do; he could confront the false teachers, he could preach, he could go door to door ensuring people were clear about the doctrine of Christ; nevertheless, Paul calls Timothy to pray first. In fact, Paul commands Timothy to pray in four different ways. First, he was to pray through “entreaties,” which means he was to present to God his needs with the hope of having them met. Second, he was to pray through “prayers,” which we know as the act of calling on God. Third, he was pray using “petitions,” which means he was to have informal and intimate conversations with God at all times, and fourth he was to pray with “thanksgivings,” which meant he was to express gratitude and appreciation in his prayers.
Finally, Paul commands that prayers “be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority.” “All men” means all men and “all men” means everyone. Followers of Christ are to pray for Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, atheists, democrats, republicans; essentially anyone they know who is without salvation. Paul’s intent was that believers are to be concerned with those who are on a path to eternal hell. The challenging part of this verse comes when he calls believers to pray “for kings and all who are in authority.” This is challenging because emotions are involved. This is not a suggestion, this is a command. Believers are commanded to pray for their bosses and anyone in authority, to include the President. Even when believers greatly dislike a President for his beliefs and decisions, and completely disagree with him, they are still commanded to pray for him; just like Paul prayed for the Roman Emperor Nero who was killing Christians when he wrote this letter to Timothy.
Is your heart prepared to pray for “all men?” Complaining won’t change things, but praying will change you and the situation.
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