Prayers for all

Good afternoon it has been a great day to worship and fellowship with you today. This morning we talked about the power of the work of Christ in our lives and that we either have or can receive the abundant grace of God because Jesus came to save sinners.

Whenever i hear messages like that though i also want to know what I can do. I know that God is the first point. That it is his work in us that changes us but do we have any part in this story.

Challenges for Timothy

This morning we talked about Paul’s testimony to Timothy. Right after this testimony Paul instructs timothy on the importance of dealing with false teaching in the church of Ephesus. That was one biggest issues facing the church there that Paul was addressing. Timothy was sent there to deal with it and Paul was giving some instruction.

It is in these dealings that we See Paul give his instructions and directions to timothy and he guides him through these tough situations. Let’s pick up the scriptures than again in 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 2:1–7 NIV

1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 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 people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the 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 true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

First things First: Prayer

Prayer is the starting point for Paul. I have to be honest is this really a shock to anyone. Think about it for a moment. Is it a surprise that the response to hard times is to hit our knees. It is to spend time in prayer. If we really think about it prayer is to always be our go to in all situations. Prayer is where and how we connect to God. it is through prayer that we gain insight, direction, and focus on what God is trying to speak to us about.

Take a moment and think about the beginnings of most of Paul’s Letters. They start with Prayer. You can flip to almost anyone of them and they all begin in the same place. Prayer and thanksgiving for the people that he writing. Paul is a firm believer in prayer and the power it holds.

This isn’t a hallmark of only Paul though. This is the hallmark of Jesus and the early church.

Acts 1:14 NIV

14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Acts 4:24 NIV

24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.

Prayer was the go to practice for the early church. If we are honest it is a practice that for many have lost along the way. We don’t go to it first. When something happens Good or bad do you go to God first?

One of the interesting things about the two verses i shared with you just a moment ago are in two very different times of the lives of the early church. The first is shortly after when Jesus ascended into heaven. The Believers were at a point that they were scared. They did not know what was happening next. They were waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit to come to them. They were in a time of uncertainty.

We look to God in those times. We look to him in those moments as believers because we know there is comfort and guidance in God. It is those times that we wait, and expect him to come.

The second passage is a little more interesting. Peter and John had been arrested and had to face the Sanhedrin to account for their actions. After everything was done and they were released they went back and reported what had happened to their fellow believers.

They were in a moment of Joy because Peter and John had been returned. They were also in a moment of realization of the challenges that faced them in the future front he leaders of the area. They had challenges. So what did they do.

They Prayed!

They prayed in celebration o the deliverance of Peter and John and they also prayed for the the ability to continue to minister in spite the danger.

Pray in all

We are called to pray in all situations as the first action as Christians. When something good happens in our lives. Pray. Thank God for what has happened.

When life starts getting tough and you aren’t sure what the next step is Pray. Trust God to provide the guidance and direction you need.

When nothing is happening and there is a moment of peace and rest. Pray. Recognizing the given time and see it for what it is and know that you are blessed.

On a personal note I want to share with you something happening in my own life. For the last month I have been waking in the middle of the night for various reasons. One of the challenges i have with sleep is if my mind gets going i can’t sleep. I have to shut my mind off to be able to go to sleep. My wife is lucky enough she can hit the pillow and be asleep in seconds. In the past when this would happen it wouldn’t have been uncommon for me to roll over and grab my phone. Start scrolling facebook or youtube or some other media sight to find something to do so i could shut my mind off and hopefully fall back asleep. Something changed though in this past month. I made a choice.

Now when i wake up i Pray. This is in response to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I had woken up one night and i was reaching for my phone when i felt the nudging of the Spirit saying.

“Don’t pick up the Phone, talk to me”

I wish i could say i was perfect in it and i immediately followed it. I picked up my phone. I started to open it up and start scrolling and i got the nudging again.

“Put down the phone, talk to me”

Prayer it is than.

I Set down my phone and I just started sharing with God what was on my heart. What had woken me. Releasing my mind and my heart to him.

Do you know what happened next?

I fell Asleep.

Now don’t get the wrong idea. This wasn’t because Prayer is boring and puts us to sleep.

It was because at that moment the Spirit knew what I needed. I needed to release what was on my heart. To take it to him and to present it to him and give it to God. To open up my heart and my mind to his grace and give it to him. My mind was able to be cleared so i could find rest. I can’t imagine for a second God was sitting up in heaven saying.

Aww man he fell asleep again how dare he.

I know this because i would never do that to my own child. As a Father i would never be upset with my kid if they fell asleep sitting there talking. I know i would smile and let them rest knowing they were tired and they needed it.

Prayer had become my first action.

I Learned to Pray in my situation and be at peace.

Pray for All

Is that All Paul was calling for though in this passage. Was He just calling us to first pray.

1 Timothy 2:1–3 NIV

1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 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,

Paul called us to pray for all people. Not just for ourselves. What i found particularly interesting is the idea of praying for our leaders. Now don’t worry we aren’t going to go political on this. Because when people read Kings and Authority they instantly go to our politicians. I want instead to present a different idea to you on who that might mean because I think we all know that we are to pray for them no matter how we feel about them.

Kings and all those in authority starts in our own community.

Who are some of the authorities in your life?

Children should be praying for their parents as authorities in their life.

Have you been praying for your boss?

Have you been Praying for your kids teacher, Principal?

Have you been Praying for our police officers?

Have you been Praying for your local leaders?

Have you been Praying for your church Board?

Have you been Praying for your District Leadership?

The list goes on and on of local and personal leadership in our lives that it is easy to quickly realize that there are a lot of people we look to for guidance and authority. We need to pray for them. In fact we need to pray for all people. pouring out our heart and soul to God on their behalf so that they can come to know Christ.

1 Timothy 2:3–4 NIV

3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Prayer for all is essential to who we are in our faith. To be praying for God to infiltrate all aspects of our lives and our society. To transform our community both as a church and as country and a world so that we can further the Kingdom of God.

We pray so that we can bear witness and show that we know that the only way to God is through Jesus. That in constant communication with him we can gain insight into how we can change the world around us and transform the community we live in for the better. To turn us back to God. Because there is only...

1 Timothy 2:5–6 NIV

5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.

Let us begin to point people toward that first with Prayer, so that our hearts are prepared to be the witness at the proper time.