The content of the church’s prayers is a crucial issue in
worship. As worship not only tells the story of a covenant God but also
participates in and does that story[1]
(which is vast and diverse in the church), so corporate prayer ought to reflect
the diverse narrative that exists between God and his people. The Apostle Paul,
writing as a mentor to young Timothy, spent time teaching how the church is to
pray (1 Tim 2). Paul’s instructions to Timothy here center around the church’s
prayers in unity. Paul often makes clear his concerns for unity in the church.
In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle suggests that all in the body of
Christ are equal when he says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). Unity among God’s people plays a significant role in
Paul’s instructions to Timothy here regarding prayer. External factors are of
no concern in the body of Christ, for all are equal. Paul makes clear that God
“desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth. For
there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men” (1 Tim 2:4-5).
No one is excluded here. While the church is diverse, she is, nevertheless, a
unified people through the mediator, Jesus Christ.
The instructions given in these
verses relate to for whom the church is to pray. In a broad scope, the
directions given to Timothy are to pray for all people, not merely brothers and
sisters in Christ. John Calvin spoke of praying for all people in the following
manner:
The prayer of the Christian ought then to be conformed to this rule in order that it may be in common and embrace all who are his brothers in Christ: not only those whom he presently sees and recognizes as such, but all people who dwell on earth. For what the Lord has determined regarding them is beyond our knowing, except that we ought to wish and hope for the best for them.[2]
Paul’s
instructions are not limited to praying only for the church but for everyone
including “kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Tim 2:2). As divisive as
they may be, even political differences should not hinder the prayers of God’s
people for everyone, but rather a unified people are called to pray on behalf
of others as a reflection of God’s character and desire for all to be saved (1
Tim 2:4). As the body of Christ is diverse, so also are the needs of the world,
thus beckoning God’s people to pray for everyone.
The types of prayers that are to be offered should vary. The
church here is instructed to offer “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
thanksgivings” on behalf of all people (1 Tim 2:1). The various types of
prayers mentioned here seem to be related to the specific needs of those for
whom are being prayed. Where we tend to use the word, prayer, in a broad sense,
the terms used in these verses contain specific meanings. Supplications (δεήσις) seems to “focus on asking for some
special need”[3] in a
person’s life. Prayers (προσευχή)
“is the more general word for prayer…although it can be more focused when
additional terms are added to it.”[4]
Intercessions (ἔντευξις)
“means here ‘petition’ or more appropriately ‘appeal’…with a note of both
urgency and boldness of access.”[5]
Thanksgivings (εὐχαριστία)
“refers to…expressions of gratitude…to God on behalf of all.”[6]
The prayers of the church are to be offered on behalf of
all, bearing in mind the specific needs that exist in the world at large and
with an ever-present realization of a covenant God who hears the cries of his
people. The recognition that humankind has no standing with the Father apart
from Christ is fundamental to Paul’s reflection here,[7] for without the mediation of
Jesus, the church cannot rightly pray to God. Paul states, “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” (1 Tim 2:5-6). The doctrine of Christ as mediator is fully connected to
the covenant[8]
relationship between God and his people. Without the pleas of the church
through the mediator, Jesus Christ, the needs of all people are not heard. It
is the church then that intercedes on behalf of all people. Paul’s instructions
here point to a God who hears and responds to his people in meeting the needs
of the world.
Praying for the specific needs of all people despite
differences among all humans may seem to be a daunting task. Nonetheless, the
principle involved is the unity of the church. Paul’s desire for unity is
evident when he says, “I desire then that in every place the men should pray,
lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling” (1 Tim 2:8). The seemingly
divisive issues and people that are included in the broad scope of praying for
all people are impossible to conquer except that the church is unified in Jesus
Christ. Union with Christ is the only way to live at peace with one another
without anger and quarreling. Without his unity, the differences of humankind
supersede. Throughout the centuries, writers have “defined salvation and the
Christian life in terms of being united to Christ.”[9] “Union with Christ means
that you are in Christ and Christ is in you.”[10] The prayers of the church
should be unified because individually and collectively God’s people are
members of one body, namely the body of Christ, and he is actively working in
each of his adopted people. Because Christ is the mediator between the Father
and his people, unity is crucial. In the text here, the Apostle Paul evokes a
crucial understanding of Christ as the mediator in the new covenant.
The prayers of the church are imperative in a broken world.
Only through Christ does the Father reconcile all things to himself (Col 1:20).
A fallen and sinful people are redeemed and found positionally righteous in
Jesus Christ, and through him, are also being made actually righteous. For this
reason, the church alone has standing before the Father in prayer; therefore,
the prayers of the church for all people and by all members of her body are
crucial. God’s people then pray in unity through Jesus Christ who intercedes on
her behalf for the needs of the world.
[1] Robert E. Webber, Ancient-Future
Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Books, 2008), 23.
[2]
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian
Religion (1536), quoted in Elsie McKee, “Calvin and Praying for ‘All People
Who Dwell on Earth,” Interpretation 63, no. 2 (April 2009): 130.
[3]
George W. Knight, The Pastoral
Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament
Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Paternoster Press, 1992), 114.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Donald Guthrie, Pastoral Epistles: An Introduction
and Commentary, vol. 14 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990), 86.
[8] Ibid.
[9]
Rankin Wilbourne, Union with Christ: The
Way to Know and Enjoy God (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2016), 340,
Kindle.
[10] Ibid., 431, Kindle.
