Pray for all people
1 Tim. 2:1-7
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 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.”
If we look back in the bible to Genesis, before the fall, it describes life as unified, complete, perfect and most of all, void of pain or evil and in constant unity with God in his perfection. Right after the fall of man through Adam there were consequences. Arguably the worst consequence of our sin was separation from God. This is a big deal because that means communication and contact with God was tainted, severed, no longer perfect or complete from that day forward. Communication with God remained this way for 100’s of years, until the day that Christ died on the cross. The biggest thing Christ did through his crucifixion, death and resurrection, was to re-establish communication with our Lord and creator by offering his perfect blood on our behalf. Because of that selfless perfect sacrifice, prayer, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the assurance of salvation are all possible.
So, case in point, a huge theme throughout the entire bible has to be re-establishing communication between God and Man. The mere fact that we are now the temple of God, and the Spirit of the Lord now resides within us as Christians is nothing less than impossibly miraculous!!!
In light of this fact, how would you say your prayer life affects your everyday life? How important is prayer to you? Is the answer you just gave yourself backed by your actions, or what you would like your intentions to be? Are we so prone to excommunicate ourselves from communion with God? Are we so quick to complain that we don’t feel him near or present in our lives? These are huge blind spots in my life and I’m guessing for you as well. We must learn to see the value of our time with Christ as important, the investment of time toward the health of our soul, for the more time we give Christ the more we adapt and develop his characteristics in our own lives. In that light one of his most vital characteristics was He was a man of thoughtful, intentional, undisturbed prayer. I hope I have established a decent awareness of how important it is to pray, for by praying we re-establish communication with God that has been disconnected for the time of the fall of man thousands of years ago.
Now that we have refocused on the importance of prayer and have begun to see the value of communication with our creator and savior, how do we apply this truth? If our sole purpose is to develop for self-help or inner peace, then we have missed the point of the gospel. What has God called us to do through his power and grace in our lives? “Go and make disciples of all nations… (Matt. 28:19)” God doesn’t want us to stifle the full gift of his grace by being selfish with it. That is a self-serving gospel and is not at all the message I read in my bible. Instead I read 1 Tim. 2:4, “Who [God} desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” God desires that all people, EVERY SINGLE PERSON, experience His free gift of grace and truth personally. How does that mission get accomplished? For some reason he has chosen the weak to shame the strong. He has chosen us, his sheep, us wandering, forgetful, frustrating, filthy, undeserving people to be his messengers.
There are tons of theories about why Christ chose to use us to spread his message. Some suggestions are,
Working through us shows us our dependence upon him.
To know that Christ lives in us through us obeying his call and his word.
Because the one who learns the most is the teacher (so God wants us to lead and Grow in leadership and be able to teach).
I catch myself asking these questions all the time, and I have come full circle to the realization that it really doesn’t matter why… God is sovereign and we are not. God is timeless, our entire existence revolves around time. The important thing to remember in my opinion is that God has created us, called us to himself, and has saved us end of story. Be grateful, and live in such a way that your gratefulness is evident in every moment, in every way. Just like when we can’t wait to tell someone when our heart is overjoyed, our response to God’s provision through our entire known existence should be that tenfold.
Now to the sobering truth of the human condition of sin which is ultimately the reason we lost communication with God in the first place. Why do we withhold the gospel to certain people in our lives? We should be overjoyed to talk about the work of Christ in our lives to absolutely everyone around us, but we don’t. Our reasons can be endless; it’s not time yet, I don’t feel comfortable with my knowledge of the gospel yet, I’m afraid of what they might think of me, it will just make my life more difficult, I might die if the officials find out etc. Christians, we have been given much, therefore much is required of us (luke 12:48)! We have a job, go and make disciples, pray, intercede, and thank the Lord for all that he has given. Christ is to be praised and he has chosen to use us to spread his good news to ALL PEOPLE!!! Praise God he chose to send his son for us!
So, are you ready to pray for all who come in contact with you regardless of circumstances, your comfort level, or social status? Are you ready to be an instrument of Christ, in every moment, and in every way? Are you ready to let God use you to reach ALL PEOPLE? If not that’s ok, start by just praying for a heart for others and that God would give you opportunity you would recognize when it comes. Christ will answer your prayer, will you let Him change you? And For those who answer yes, be ready! Be disciplined in that and enjoy the work the Lord has laid before you.
