Men Pray Everywhere 1 Timothy 2:8

Paul the apostle was “ordained a preacher”, “apostle” and “a teacher of the Gentiles” of the gospel of Jesus Christ which declared Jesus to be the “one mediator between God and men”. Jesus gave Himself a “ransom for all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” therefore Paul instructed Timothy to be a man of prayer for “all men”. In chapter two and verse eight of his letter to Timothy, Paul expanded his prayer circle by inviting men everywhere to pray where we read:

I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

The verse begins, “I will therefore that men pray every where,...” Paul declared, “I will” or “deliberately have a purpose, am minded and desire” “therefore” which is a conclusion word and refers to what what just stated concerning Paul being a preacher, apostle and teacher, “that men pray” or “supplicate or make prayer” “every where” which refers to “each, any, all, and the whole place where they are located”. Because Paul was ordained to share the gospel, he instructed Timothy to have every person in prayer concerning the promotion of the same.

The verse goes on to say, “...lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” In addition to prayer, Paul desired “lifting up” or “raising” “holy hands” which means “hands which are undefiled by sin, free from wickedness which religiously observe every moral obligation which is pure and pious”. Paul added, “without wrath” or “separate and apart from anger, natural disposition, temper, and indignation” “and doubting” which means “a deliberating within oneself, questioning about what is true, hesitation, disputing and arguing as to the verity of something”. Paul desired for people not only to pray, but to have “hands” undefiled by sin and to be living in full belief rather than inward questioning and doubting the gospel for which they lived.

As we think about Paul's words, we should consider whether we follow Paul's directive. Do we “pray”? Do we lift up “holy hands” which are undefiled by sin? Do we have “doubts” which only cause questioning and disputing within? Let us allow the Holy Spirit of God to reveal the importance of prayer and lifting holy hands, and let us be “without wrath and doubting” May our prayers lead us to a life which is closer to Jesus Christ as we declare Him throughout our world.

Next time Paul tells Timothy how women should be adorned, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.