1 Timothy 2:1-6 * September 30, 2007 * Pentecost 18 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

There are certain recurring elements in a Christian’s life that are so basic, so familiar and so understood that they run the risk of being taken for granted; maybe even misunderstood as to their nature and purpose. It’s nothing malicious or even intentional. It’s just that we often don’t give familiar things much thought.

Sometimes the Christian’s life of prayer falls into that category.

Martin Luther made the comment that to be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing. We wouldn’t disagree.

Yet at the same time we would also agree with the observation someone once made that there is a big difference between saying prayers and actually praying. The first can be done with little thought. But actively praying is another matter entirely. That’s why it is important for us to periodically pause and contemplate the depth and richness of the great topic of prayer and how it applies to our lives.

Today we have such an opportunity.

The divinely inspired writer of our text, the Apostle Paul, was not a man who simply said prayers. He was a deep and devout man of prayer. This comes through in reading about him in the Book of Acts or skimming one of the letters he wrote. Paul highly valued prayer and understood its power and importance. So we have a good instructor.

Therefore, while there are many different areas he addressed in the rich text before us, let’s especially focus on what we can learn and apply to our life of prayer. Given its instructional nature, we might entitle our text

PAUL’S POINTERS ON PRAYER

1. Pray – in all of prayer’s various forms

2. Pray – for everyone

3. Pray – for a climate in which the Gospel can reign

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone…” Paul offers each of us strong encouragement toward a life of purposeful prayer. He then follows with four different words, all used to describe the same thing. At first we might think this is just repetition for the sake of making his point. If we look a little closer, however, we’ll see that each word he uses provides us with a little different information as to the various forms our prayers can take.

First he encourages us to offer up requests. A request by definition is asking for something that meets a certain, definite, need. Sometimes we pray in broad strokes about issues in general, and that is alright. But here Paul reminds us that we can and should be specific as we talk to God about the concrete situations that are a part of our lives and that only He can help us with.

That being said, there are also times when we can’t be specific because we’re just not sure what to pray for. Ever been in one of those situations where you have something on your heart and mind but you just don’t know which way to go? We’ve all be there. Then we simply cast our specific concerns before the throne of God with the joy and confidence that our Heavenly Father knows best.

With the word “request” Paul reminds us to pray specifically when it comes to those matters on our hearts and minds,

Next, we are offer up prayers. Although this is a general term, given the context and order of appearance in Paul’s list here, perhaps we can make this distinction. If requests deals with the specific situations we bring to God as these situations appear in our lives, perhaps the term prayers refers to asking God’s help for the ongoing needs that are always present in our lives as His children. For example, the need to be less critical and less controlling and instead be ever more loving, more forgiving, more patient, more Christ-like, etc. That is something we are to pray for ourselves as well as for others.

With the word “prayers,” Paul reminds us to pray for ongoing spiritual formation and development.

Then Paul tells us to offer up intercession. Intercession simply means speaking to God on behalf of someone else or for someone else’s needs. We do this regularly as a congregation in our worship services. We do this as individuals when we learn of friends and neighbors’ needs and then bring these needs to the Lord in prayer – maybe even without their knowing about it.

Let me tell you what a comfort it is for Christians to know that other Christians are holding them and their needs before God’s throne of grace. Those of us who have been there will testify that very few things are more meaningful than to be at the receiving end of the five little words “you are in my prayers.”

That is a comfort for two reasons. First because we know that God hears and acts on the prayers of His people. Secondly, it assures us that we are part of a caring, Christian community that is willing to speak to God in our behalf. That sense of belonging – to God and with each other – is what our Lord intended for His family of believers.

With the word “intercession,” Paul reminds us to pray for others.

Finally, Paul tells us to offer prayers of thanksgiving. This is a component of prayer that we must never forget, especially in view of how richly blessed we are. And we are richly blessed – materially and especially spiritually. Focusing on thanking God for what we have also has the beneficial side-effect of precluding us from whining about the few things we don’t have.

The fourth century church father Ambrose put it this way: “No duty is more urgent [for Christians] than that of returning thanks.” Paul would agree with that assessment. Liberally sprinkle our prayers with thanksgiving, says Paul.

So Paul’s first pointer on prayer is this: Pray in all of prayer’s various forms and with all of prayer’s various components.

His second pointer on prayer answers the question, who should we pray for? Listen again to the first verse of our text. “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone…”

For everyone. Our prayer life is no place to be stingy or selfish. We are not to be like the child who was overheard to pray: “God bless Daddy and Mommy and sis and me, us four and no more.” Paul says pray for everyone.

Obviously we can’t pray for everyone on earth by name. The point Paul makes is simply that our prayer life is to extend beyond ourselves… beyond our borders… beyond our hemisphere… beyond our particular race or nationality. Our prayer is that God may bless and rule everyone with His Word.

Paul’s second pointer on prayer: pray for everyone.

This leads Paul to get specific as he provides us with his final pointer on prayer. Listen now to the remaining verses of our text. “I urge, then, first of all that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quite lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men – the testimony given in its proper time.”

Paul tells us that we as Christians are to pray for those in authority – rulers, governments, presidents and the like. Why? A couple of reasons. First of all so we might live quiet and peaceful lives; lives lived out before a watching world that silently give evidence of the claim that Christ has on them.

But an even more important reason for temporal authorities to be kept in our prayers is this: Freedom from disturbances such as wars and persecutions facilitates the spread of the Gospel message to the glory of God and for the salvation of souls. Paul reveals to us the very heart of God when he says God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

He then goes on to remind us that this truth revolves around Jesus Christ, the Mediator between God and man. This is an interesting description and worthy of comment, because in this one single word we have compressed the entire message of sin and grace, law and Gospel.

A mediator is a go-between or link that brings two sides together. And we are reminded that sin put man and God at odds. A holy God demands perfection, but we are imperfect. Our disobedience – which is what sin is – drives a wedge between the Creator and the created. Who can bring these two sides together? How can this tension be resolved?

Here’s who and here’s how. God became one of us in the person of His Son. As a man, Jesus did what man was supposed to do but couldn’t. For thirty three years He lived a perfect life, in our place. Then on a Friday afternoon 2000 years ago He assumed the punishment for our disobedience and died in our place on a cross.

That this cosmic rescue mission was complete and satisfactory was given evidence by the fact that Jesus didn’t stay in the grave. He rose. We don’t have a dead Savior. We have a living Lord. Here is the best news yet. Everything Jesus did is applied to those who embrace him in faith. In other words, Jesus’ life, death and resurrection has mediated peace between us and God. Now we look forward to eternal life rather than eternal death.

That’s the message that reveals the heart of God. That’s the message that needs to be spread to all the world. That’s why we pray for peace and wise rulers, so this message can wing its way through all the earth. So what Paul is telling us is that even our prayer life is to be in service to the Great Commission.

Paul’s final pointer on prayer: Pray for a climate in which the Gospel can reign in our hearts and the hearts of others.

Let’s bring our thoughts to a close. In Acts 2:42 we are given some insight into the early Christian Church. We are told that early believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

Today we have had the opportunity to devote ourselves to reviewing the Apostle Paul’s teaching on prayer. May our time together move us to be people who don’t merely say prayers, but people of prayer… in all its various forms… as we pray for everyone… and especially for a climate in which the Gospel will reign in our hearts and the hearts of others. God grant it. Amen.