Introduction. 1st Timothy is
the first of three letters written by Paul to young
preachers. These letters are called the Pastoral Epistles,
and are Paul’s attempt at instructing and encouraging
these young men of God.
In these letters, we can find a great amount of material
related to behaviour in the church and also governing
worship.
Paul felt compelled
to write these letters, because Timothy and Titus were
serving the Lord in a society that was very secular
and openly opposed to the preaching of salvation
through Jesus Christ. And to the lifestyle of separation
and holiness that accompanies that salvation. He gives
these young men some rules, by which they can operate
their ministries.
It seems to me
that we live in a society that is growing more and more
anti-Christian by the day. We live in a society, which
declares, right to be wrong, and wrong to be right.
We no longer live
in a Christian nation; we live in a nation that has
become a pagan nation, where men live as if God were
dead or irrelevant.
We can complain
all we want about the situation, but this is where we
are, and we have been placed here by the providence
of Almighty God. Therefore, we need to know how to live
for God in a pagan world.
Paul, in these
verses, deals with one area where we can all impact.
It’s an area
of Christian activity that has the power to change society
and demonstrate Christ to a lost world. I am talking
about the area of prayer.
I want us to consider together the matter of praying
in a pagan world. Notice three important divisions in
these verses.
I. The Demand that God Makes v.1-2
A. The Elevation Of
Prayer v.1a –”First
of all” –
This literally
means, first in order, in rank and importance. Paul
tells us that our first priority in the church is that
of prayer.
In recent years
there has been a steady decline of the importance of
prayer. It seems that Christians have time for every
pursuit and activity, except that which is deemed most
important. Prayer is often the orphan of the church!
1. Yet, consider
the power of prayer –God has promised to hear prayer.
. Jer 33:3
Call unto me, and I will
answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things,
which thou knowest not.
2. – God has
promised to answer prayer. John 16:23
And in that day ye shall
ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever
ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it
you.
Prayer is the privilege
and power of every saint. No one stands higher than
another in the area of prayer! Heb. 4:16 – Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need.
In these dark days,
when men and women are doing that which seems right
in their own eyes and are rejecting the way of God,
which leads to eternal life, prayer
needs to be exalted in our churches more than ever!
Illustration. One old Pastor
said—If he announced a fellowship meal, people
would come out of the woodwork to attend —
If he announced
a Prayer meeting, he would count himself lucky if the
deacons turned up.
Friends—let
us remember that, when a local church ceases to depend
on prayer, God ceases to bless its ministry. Be not
forgetful of prayer.
Every time you
pray, if your prayer is sincere, there will be new feeling
and new meaning in it, which will give you fresh courage,
and you will understand that prayer is an education
from elevation.
A. The Elevation Of Prayer v.1a –”First of all” –
B. The Elements Of Prayer
– v. 1b
Paul lists four
elements that ought to be included in our praying. They
are:
1. Supplications
– This carries the idea of making requests. Sharing our felt
needs with God –It implies the feeling of our great
need of the gifts and the blessing of God. Phil 4:6
Be careful for
nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God.
2. Prayers –
This word refers to the act of worship that should accompany
prayer. When we pray, we are literally in the presence
of God. Therefore, we are to pray with reverence in
our hearts, for our prayers are directed towards Deity.
3. Intercessions
– The basic meaning for this word is to draw near to
a person and to converse confidently with him. It refers
to Christians taking the needs of others before the
Lord. Our praying should not be selfish.
Hannah Hurnard
--- An intercessor means one who is in such vital contact with
God and with his fellowmen that he is like a live
wire closing the gap between the saving power of
God and the sinful men who have been cut off from that
power.
4. Giving Of Thanks – When we draw near to God in prayer, our hearts should
be filled with gratitude for all He is, all He has done,
all He is doing and all He will do. Thanksgiving should
not be tacked on to the end of our praying, but it should
be a major ingredient in every prayer we pray.
Eph 5:18-2 And
be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled
with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the
Lord;
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the
Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Archbishop Trench--
has said, that thanksgiving will persist even in heaven, when
all other forms of prayer have ceased because of the
fruition of the things prayed for
A. The Elevation Of
Prayer v.1a
B. The Elements Of Prayer
– v. 1b
C. The
Extent Of Prayer –
v.1c-2a
We are to pray
for “all men.”
This tells us that
there is no one on the face of the earth that
should not be prayed for, and that there is no man beyond
the influence of godly praying.
This tells me that
we are to pray for the lost and we are to pray for the
saved. We are to pray for those who live near us and
for those who are far from us.
We are to pray
for our friends and for our enemies; we are to have
a universal outlook on prayer. The Pharisees did not
have this universal outlook on prayer; they centred
their attention primarily on Israel. The Church is to
centre her attention on “all men “ on the
whole world.
Paul tells the
church to especially pray for Kings and those in authority.
The leadership in Paul’s day was in the hands of
the godless Emperor – Nero! And yet the believers
were supposed to pray for him.
Friends, even,
when we cannot respect men who are in authority, we
must respect their office, and pray for them.
Now, more than
ever, Christians need to pray for their leaders! We
do not have to agree with them, but we should pray for
them, for it is God Himself who has given human rulers
their authority.
Rom 13:1-2 Let
every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there
is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained
of God.
2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth
the ordinance of God:
Christian love
and grace should prevail in all that we do!
For it is only Christians, who have this vital contact
with God.
C. The Extent Of Prayer –
v.1c-2a
We are to pray for “all
men.”
D . The Ends Of Prayer
– v. 2b
That we may lead a quiet
and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty
When we pray as
we should, the product will be a quietness externally
and peacefulness internally. This should produce in
us lives of godliness and purity. Our praying ought
to be for ourselves--- that we do not damage the testimony
of Christ by low living!
I. The Demand that
God Makes v.1-2
2. The Delight That God Takes v. 3
For this is good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
When we pray after
this manner, it pleases the Lord and is a good thing
in His sight.
Between the humble
and contrite heart and the majesty of heaven, there
are no barriers; the only password is prayer.
God is honoured
when His people pray, as they should. It reveals faith
on our part and it affords God an opportunity to demonstrate
His power..
God is more honoured
by our prayers than He is by our protests. Often, protesters
display an openly anti-Christian attitude!
It pleases the
Father when His children Pray as He has commanded. The
Pharisees prayed to be praised by men or to impress
the other worshipers.
True Christians
pray because they want to please the Lord, who saved
them.
Surely this would
suggest that we must pray in the will of God, because
it does not please our heavenly Father when we pray
selfishly.
It has rightly
been said – That Prayer is not to get man’s
will done in heaven, but to get God’s will done
on earth. Matt 6---
9 After this manner
therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed
be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it
is in heaven
I. The Demand that God Makes v.1-2
2. The Delight that God Takes v. 3
3. The Desire that God States v.4
God’s ultimate
will and desire is to see all men saved !
2 Pet 3:9 The Lord
is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing
that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.
We can pray for
all men, for it is God’s will that all men should
come to a knowledge of salvation through faith in Jesus
Christ His Son.
God loves the whole
world—Christ died on the cross for the whole world
and we, who are saved, are to pray for the whole world.
This does not mean that all, without exception are going to
be saved, for the whole world is not going to be saved.
It does mean that all people, without distinction can
be saved—Jews and Gentiles. Religious and Pagan—Rich
and Poor, for whosoever shall call on the name of
the Lord shall be saved.
We cannot fully explain the mystery of God’s Sovereignty
and man’s Responsibility, but both are taught in
the Bible and are harmonised in God’s great Plan
of salvation.
This we do know, that Prayer is an important part of God’s
Program for reaching a lost world
God’s means of reaching those, whom He wants to save,
is by using those, whom He has already saved.
The world is more likely to respond to Christians who love
them and pray for them that they are to Christians who
attack them and consign as beyond redemption. We are
to hate sin, but always love the sinner. That is what
Jesus did –.
We love them best by praying for them and lovingly sharing
Christ with them.
In verse 5 Paul underscore the basis for all Prayer
1 Tim 2:5 For there
is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;
True Prayer is
based on the work of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Mediator.
The grounds for Universal Prayer centres on the Gospel.
As the God man,
Jesus Christ is the perfect Mediator between a Holy
God and His failing children.
1. Paul speaks in v5 of --The Unity of God---
there is one God. This
was the central truth highlighted in the Old Testament.
If there were more
than one God then men could choose their own God. But
there is only one God and He is the God so all men and
all men are responsible to Him.
2. Paul speaks
of --The Unity of the Mediator.
For there is one
God, and one mediator.-- the man Christ Jesus; Note
the mediator is a Man—One mediator and he is a
Man—
Some would try
to tell us that Christ is just one among many mediators,
and have included Angels, saints, and the Virgin Mary.
Our Mediator, although
equal with God, became man. No other person can qualify
to be a mediator. It is only the God Man who can mediate
between a Holy God and sinful humanity.
For in His perfect
life and substitutionary death—he met the demands
of God’s Holy Law.
3. Paul speaks
of—The Availability of the Sacrifice
V 6 Who gave Himself for
all, to be testified in due time.
Before the Lord ascended
to heaven, He commissioned His followers to evangelize
and make disciples. During this age of grace, the testimony
must be given out that, God Loves all, Christ died for
all, giving His life a ransom for many
Not to Pray is
to slight the Cross! Not to pray is to ignore souls
who are lost—Not to pray is to deny us of God’s
very best.
Of all the weapons
we have at our disposal, prayer is the most effective
in changing the world around us. The challenge to you
and I is that we become effective prayer warriors for
the Lord Jesus Christ – James 5:16 .
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.
Charles Haddon
Spurgeon,
There are many locks in
my house and all with different keys, but I have one
master key, which opens them all.
The Lord has many
treasures and secrets all shut up with locks, which
they cannot open.
But he who walks
in fellowship with Jesus possesses the master key
that will open to him all the blessings of the covenant and
even the very heart of God.
Prayer is that
Key
Through Jesus, the
well beloved, we have access to God, to heaven, and
to every secret of the Lord.
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