1 Timothy
Reading
will be 1 Timothy 2:1-7
1
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high
positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in
every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4
who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at
the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am
telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and
truth.
Let
me start by explaining what a prayer is, a prayer is a spiritual communion with
God, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession. When we pray,
we are talking to the Father almighty and we must remember that while we may
ask for anything it is up to God to decide if what we ask for is in line with
his plans. We must remember that while we see only the here and now God see
everything. Would you want God to give a child a Velociraptor because he prayed
for one? Of course, not. We need to
remember that God is not a wish vending machine where you walk up to Him and
put your quarter in and your wish is instantly granted. A prayer request will
be granted if and when God determines that it is the right time by his plan and
we have no right to question His judgement. As matter of fact we wouldn’t even
have the right to make a request of God if He didn’t allow it. So, remember the
next time God doesn’t grant your request it is either because it wasn’t the
right time or the right request to fit into His plan and be thankful knowing
that He does have a plan for all for us.
The first verse talks about the types of
prayers we pray. First is the prayer of supplication. The meaning of
supplication is: The action of asking or begging for something earnestly or
humbly. When we pray with supplication we are humbly asking God to make our
mind pliable to His will and by doing this we allow Him to mold us in a closer
image to His Son allowing us to grow closer to Jesus and our desires become His
desires. Once our desires become His desire, it changes our what we want God to
do and what we believe is right.
Psalms
37: 4-5; 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give
thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the
Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
A
lot of people who read this verse think if they get closer to God That God will
give them their desires however when we pray with supplication God changes us
and our desires. The verse teaches that instead of us getting what we desire we
will desire what God wants.
In
Philippians 4:6 it tells us; “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
Paul is
telling us not to get anxious about anything but to submit your requests to God
through humbly prayer. Because when a believer submits his troubles to Him they
will find the peace of God.
The next form of prayer that Paul discusses is
a Prayer of intercession. Intercession is the act of pleading for another.
Prayers for healing, strength, and peace are all examples of prayers of
intercession. A good example of a prayer of intercession is found in Genesis
Read Genesis 18: 22-33 22 So the
men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the
LORD. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the
righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the
city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous
who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous
to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that
from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?" 26 And
the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will
spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Abraham answered and said,
"Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and
ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the
whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if
I find forty-five there." 29 Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose
forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will
not do it." 30 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I
will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not
do it, if I find thirty there." 31 He said, "Behold, I have
undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He
answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it." 32 Then he
said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once.
Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I
will not destroy it." 33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished
speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Abraham’s intercession took on the form of a
negotiation going from 50 righteous people down to 10. Even though God didn’t
find the ten-righteous people he did allow Lot’s family to leave Sodom before
it was destroyed because of Abraham.
Jesus
who made the greatest intercession when He died for our sins on the cross made
prayer of intercession right up to the end of His mortal life. In fact, the
last one was while He hung on the cross dying, “Then said Jesus, Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and
cast lots.” Luke 23:34.
Read John 17: 6-25 6 "I have manifested your name to the
people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to
me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have
given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and
they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you;
and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not
praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I
am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.
Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be
one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name,
which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost
except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But
now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may
have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the
world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the
world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep
them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the
world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me
into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I
consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. 20 "I do not
ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their
word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in
you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have
sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they
may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become
perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even
as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me,
may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you
loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though
the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
In this passage Jesus not only prayed for his
disciples but for us. Even before we
were born Jesus was already praying for us do we not serve an awesome Lord. He
was looking out for us before we were even a speck of dust and will continue to
be there for us for all of eternity.
Oswald
Chambers who was an early twentieth century Scottish Baptist said, “The place
for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says
nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for
those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to
get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer”
Intercessory
prayers are a powerful tool in the Christians arsenal to help their brethren by
using them to beseech God to intercede, assist or heal others. One of the
greatest forms of love you can show for your fellow-man is to pray for them.
The final form of prayer is the one that
should be included with every other form of prayer that is giving thanks. We
must always remember that everything we are and everything we have is given to
us from God and we need to be thankful for that alone. Let’s not forget that
Jesus was the one who paid for our sins could we ever be thankful enough for
that I think not.
No matter rather you are asking for help for
yourself or a stranger you should always take the time to thank God for
everything you have and everything He has done for you. If you had nothing else
but your life you should be thankful it is more than we deserve.
The one form of prayer that should be
constantly in your heart and being continuously utter from your lips is a
prayer of thanks giving. It can be as simple as; Lord thank you for this day.
Or as elaborate as you desire.
There is one other form of prayer that wasn’t
mentioned here that is the prayer asking for repentance. We are all sinners and
the cost of our sins is us being separated from God but thanks to Jesus’
sacrifice all we must do is confess our sins and ask for forgiveness and our
sins are washed away and we start with a clean slate.
I was once told that the perfect prayer
consisted of us giving God praise and thank Him for everything he has done for
and to us, asking his forgiveness then making any request you have That is why
the Prayer that Jesus taught His disciples is considered the perfect prayer in
those few verses in Matthew 6: 9 -13
As We finish the sermon today I am going to
ask you all to stand and recite The Lord’s Prayer with me and as we do I want
you to think about each verse and the next time you pray use it as your
outline. You can change the words to match what you have on your heart because
the words are not what is important the intent is.
Our Father which art in
heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy
will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our
daily bread.
And forgive us our
debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever. Amen.
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