1 Timothy 2 -- How Paul Directs Us Men

“’Let all things be done decently and in order’ (1 Cor. 14:40) is a basic principle for the conduct of the ministry of the church,” my commentary begins.  “Often, what we think is the ‘freedom of the Spirit’ are the carnal ideas of some Christian who is not walking in the Spirit.  Eventually this freedom becomes anarchy, and the Spirit grieves as the church gradually moves away from the standards of God’s Word.  To counteract this tendency, Paul exhorted the men and women in the church and reminded them of their spiritual responsibilities.”

For men, Paul placed a priority on prayer.  “’First of all’ indicates that prayer is most important in the public worship of the church … Much prayer, much power!  No prayer, no power! … Church members 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…  When a local church ceases to depend on prayer, God ceases to bless its ministry.”

“Paul urged the church to especially pray for those in authority.  Godless Emperor Nero was on the throne at that time, and yet the believers were supposed to pray for him!”

“If the basis for prayer is the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ on the cross, then prayer is a most important activity in a church.  Not to pray is to slight the cross!”

“Paul stated three essentials for effective prayer, the first is holy hands --  this means a holy life … If we have sin in our lives, we cannot pray and expect God to answer … ‘Without anger’ is the second essential, and requires us to be on good terms with each other.  A person who is constantly having trouble with other believers, who is a troublemaker rather than a peacemaker, cannot pray and get answers from God.”

“Doubting suggests that we must pray in faith, but the word really means disputing … Christians should learn to disagree without being disagreeable … If we spent more time preparing to pray and getting our hearts right before God, our prayers would be more effective.”

Father, let these words sink deep into my own heart and show me how to ensure that I’m doing them!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford