1 Timothy 2:1-9

Introduction

The word “Therefore” connects the previous charge (Fighting the good fight) with the present exhortation (Pray for all men).

John Gill - There are two principle parts to public worship: prayer and the word. Chapter 1, Paul dealt with the word, and in chapter 2 he writes about prayer.

I have never met a person who has mastered the art of praying. If I did meet a person who says that he has mastered the art of praying, I would know that he is lying. A person can be gifted with praying and been prayer warrior for 40 years, and still learn something new about praying.

Praying is of utmost significance.

Prayer is not preparation for the great work. It is the great work.

How important is prayer?

After truth has been settled, the next item of the docket is prayer.

Prayer is more important than anything else that follows.

Acts 6:3–4 “Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”

Charles Swindoll adds "Prayer must be the first priority of any vocational minister for the sake of any ministry he or she may serve. Prayer reminds the minister that God is in charge, not people—not the congregation, the senior pastor, the staff, or the elders. The minister serves God first and people second. Furthermore, prayer releases the minister from the tyranny of the urgent and the demands of the immediate to focus on his or her calling.

Intensity of Praying

1 Timothy 2:1 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;”

On the surface it appears that Paul expresses four different ways to convey the same truth.

Supplication

"basically carries the idea of desire or need. All true prayer begins in a sense of need and involves a deep desire.

WB - “No one will make a request unless a sense of need has already wakened a desire. Prayer begins with a sense of need. It begins with the conviction that we cannot deal with life ourselves. That sense of human weakness is the basis of all approach to God.”

Let not conscience make you linger,       Nor of fitness fondly dream;     All the fitness He requireth       Is to feel your need of Him.

We need to pray for all men. This need should awaken our desire to pray for them. How much do we criticize people compared with how much we pray for them?

Why is there a need? Just think what a different world this would be, what a different community we would have if we really took the names and needs of people before God and pleaded for them in an intense brokenness and in tears. Just think... how many more loved ones would be saved and helped, how many more within our community and state and country and world would be saved and helped, how fewer problems would exist within society, Scripture emphatically declares: "Ye have not, because ye ask not"

Prayer - Requesting something from God. Underlying the word prayer are two facets:

Prayer is a spirit of worship.

Worship - To lovingly respect and revere a Being infinitely greater than me.

worship depends on a right spiritual or emotional or affectional heart-grasp of God’s supreme value. So true worship is based on a right understanding of God’s nature, and it is a right valuing of God’s worth.

Worship begins with an inner essence of reverence and love that flows to an eternal expression of worship.

It is possible to have the eternal expression of worship without the internal essence of worship - Matthew 15:8–9 “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Therefore, prayer is an act of adoration, confession or reciting the mercies of God!

Prayer in the context of 2 Timothy 2 is public.

Intercession - The thought is to approach God on behalf of others and ask Him to take action in favor of (sometimes against) a third party. As Brown says petitions "is not only a word of advocacy, “but also of empathy, sympathy, compassion, and involvement.” We should constantly engage in others’ problems and lift them up."

Giving of thanks

Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

Colossians 4:2 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”

Notice, the intensity of praying is on behalf of “all men.”

A. T. Robertson says that “all men” means “All kinds of men.”

John Stott writes "Some years ago I attended public worship in a certain church. The pastor was absent on holiday, and a lay elder led the pastoral prayer. He prayed that the pastor might enjoy a good vacation (which was fine), and that two lady members of the congregation might be healed (which was also fine; we should pray for the sick). But that was all. The intercession can hardly have lasted thirty seconds. I came away saddened, sensing that this church worshipped a little village god of their own devising. There was no recognition of the needs of the world, and no attempt to embrace the world in prayer."

“Made” - To do!

Power of Praying

1 Timothy 2:2–4 “For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Who - Kings and people in authority - This is one kind of people we need to be praying for.

On January 20, 1953, the newly sworn-in president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, surprised America by opening his inaugural address with prayer. “My friends,” he said, “before I begin . . . would you permit me the privilege of uttering a little private prayer of my own? And I ask that you bow your heads.”

He then prayed, “Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment, my future associates in the executive branch of government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng. . . . Give us . . . the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby.”

John Piper - “If you want your prayers to do the most good for the greatest number of people, be sure to include in your prayers those persons whose decisions create the conditions in which the purposes of the gospel prosper. It is important to pray for leaders because the conditions they create either advance or impede the gospel”

John MacArthur - "Because ancient (and modern) rulers are so often tyrannical, and even disrespectful of the Lord and His people, they are targets of bitterness and animosity. They are also remote, not part of the everyday lives of believers. Hence there is a tendency to be indifferent toward them. Such neglect is a serious sin because of the authority and responsibility leaders have....If the church today took the time and energy it spends on political maneuvering and lobbying and poured them into intercessory prayer, we might see a profound impact on our nation. We have all too often forgotten that “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (2Co 10:4). The key to changing a nation is the salvation of sinners, and that calls for faithful prayer.

Prayer is international, cosmopolitan, and yet patriotic in the highest sense. -- R C H Lenski

Why

So that we can lead (live) a quiet and peaceable life.

Wiersbe says "“Quiet” (eremos)  refers to circumstances around us, while “peaceful” (hesuchios) refers to a calm attitude within us. The results should be lives that are godly and honorable."

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God.

The persistent praying for all men!

What -

God saves them!

God wills that all-kinds of men be saved.

vs. 1 “all men”

vs. 4 “all men”

vs. 6 “who gave Himself a ransom for all men”

Matthew 20:28 “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

God has the power and the will to save all kinds of men

God’s nature is to save sinners.

v.3 - God our Savior

The idea is some within the church in Ephesus began to question the value of praying for the salvation of sinners.

We do not know who the “all-kinds” of sinners are but this verse gives us hope.

Paul has been ordained to bring all-kinds of men to the Savior.

To come unto the knowledge of truth

Men need to come to the knowledge of truth.

How is v.4 possible? 1 Timothy 2:5–7 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.”

There is one God - God our Savior

One mediator between God and man - Christ Jesus

He gave Himself a ransom for all those who God will save and who comes to the knowledge of the truth.

Mindset in Praying

1 Timothy 2:8 “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”

Therefore - Based upon our need to pray for all-kinds of men and God’s desire to save all-kinds of men, Paul urges us to:

Lifting up holy Hands

The important matter is not the bodily posture but the inner life. The one leading in prayer must have "holy hands," hands unstained with sin through employment in impure deeds. He who would lead others to the throne of God must be morally qualified to do so.

Without wrath

Having a forgiven spirit - love one another.

Without doubting

Conclusion

The late Peter Deyneka Sr., my good friend and founder of the Slavic Gospel Association, often reminded me, “Much prayer, much power! No prayer, no power!” Prayer was as much a part of the apostolic ministry as preaching the Word (Acts 6:4). Yet some pastors spend hours preparing their sermons, but never prepare their public prayers. Consequently, their prayers are routine, humdrum, and repetitious. I am not suggesting that a pastor write out every word and read it, but that he think through what he will pray about. This will keep “the pastoral prayer” from becoming dull and a mere repetition of what was prayed the previous week.

But the church members also need to be prepared to pray. Our hearts must be right with God and with each other. We must really want to pray, and not pray simply to please people (as did the Pharisees, Matt. 6:5), or to fulfill a religious duty. When a local church ceases to depend on prayer, God ceases to bless its ministry.