The Priority Of Prayer

 

 

 

 

 

"First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, ² for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. ³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. ⁷ For this I was appointed as a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth."

I Timothy 2:1-7

 

Good Morning my beloved,

 

Welcome to worship this Lord's Day!

Welcome to all of our beloved brothers and sisters, from all around the world, who have been prompted to join us today. We are glad to have you here!

 

We enjoy our freedom today, because of what our founding fathers, our fathers, our brothers, sisters, our sons and daughters, have done to get and preserve this freedom. 

However, our freedom did not come cheap. Those who fought and died to give us our freedom, paid with their lives for "freedom of religion." There are those today who are trying to tell us that the intention of our founding fathers was to give us "freedom FROM religion." There’s a difference between "freedom OF religion," and "freedom FROM religion."

Are we a Christian nation today? 

 

 

We live in a society that is growing more and more anti-Christian every day. We live in a society that declares right wrong and wrong right. We live in a nation where most of the people around us live as if God were dead or at least irrelevant?  We live in a culture in which Bible believing Christians are no longer welcome, tolerated and it is becoming more aggressive against us day by day. Today, we have groups of people who are not only trying to eliminate and exterminate and remove the word "God" from public view, they are trying to obliterate the very idea of God. I believe, we find ourselves in a situation not unlike Daniel's. However, we are also living in a time, where we can have a major impact on the world, the culture and the lives of those around us by demonstrating the power of Jesus Christ to a lost and hurting world.

 

Let us bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Father, thank You for Your Word. We are grateful, so grateful to be one of Yours. As we look around our nation, it is filled with anger, with hatred and violence. We realize more and more each day, we are not of this world, we are only living in it. Lord, we know that You, of all people, understand. As we seek to follow You, in Your footsteps, help us to walk as You did, it a world that didn't receive You.  Help us to be obedient to all of Your commands, not just the ones that suit our needs.

Father, we must confess as we come with conviction to this moment, because we have failed. We have failed to pray for a lost and dying world, with a heart of compassion, a burning desire that all men might be saved, we have failed to do this for Your glory. You have given us in Your Word, instruction, guidance, and clear command, yet we have failed You. Lord, we pray that every heart would receive, every ear would be open, to hear You speak to us today, through Your Holy Spirit in our message for us today.

In Christ's name

Amen

Today's Message: The Priority Of Prayer

Patrick Henry, best known for his declaration to the Second Virginia Convention in 1775: "Give me liberty, or give me death!," once said "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ."

 

Our founding fathers, and hundreds more, paid a price to give us a nation built upon the principles of God, and the foundation of Jesus Christ. The foundation has been laid. Can we do any less than to pray for our nation, its leaders and the people of America?

If we are ever to see any good come from America again, if we are to have hope for the people of this nation, we, the church, the called of God, God’s chosen, must pray for America and her people.

Open your Bibles with me to the Book of First Timothy, chapter 2, as we continue in our journey of this heart felt epistle. I would like to encourage you to follow along with me as I read, to set in our minds our text. I Timothy 2:1-7.

"First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,  who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, 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) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth."

Prayer is to be the top priority of the church. It is not just to be the filler, thrown in between hymns, or to bridge the gap when the sermon message doesn't quite take as long as anticipated. No! Prayer is the life’s breath of the church! The late Billy Graham once said, "The three secrets to successful ministry are: prayer, prayer and more prayer." Beloved, if we are be all that God wants us to be, then we will be a people who places a greater emphasis on prayer! Let us all determine that here today, to pray "First of all!"

In verse 1, the Apostle Paul writes; "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men." Did you happen to catch that? "Be made on behalf of all men."

In his prayer, Paul uses four words, or elements to describe the total scope of prayer. All four are related, but each has a different shade of meaning and we can learn something from each of them. Together they reveal the nature of prayer and the proper attitude of prayer.

 

Entreaties: The Greek word Paul uses here is the word "deēseis," a verb from the root word "deomai,"

meaning "having deep personal need, to be in want, to feel pressing need because of lack."  

 

This refers to prayers focused on special needs. The idea is that of bringing a deep and intense burden before the Lord. When we have needs in our own lives, and when we see needs in the lives of others, we are to be moved by these needs and we are to bring them to the throne of grace.

 

Hebrews 4:16 tells us "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

 

Prayer: Is the Greek word "proseuchas," meaning to interact with the Lord by switching human wishes  for His wishes as He imparts faith, and is the act of worship that should accompany prayer. This word calls to ones mind, those times set aside to come into the Lord’s presence to worship Him and just to spend time at His feet. Every believer must have that time when we go before the Lord, without distraction, without hurry and we just spend time loving Him. Public prayer is no substitute for personal, private worship! 

 

Intercessions, or the Greek word "enteuxeis," this is the taking of the needs of others before the Lord. This refers to bold praying on behalf of others. Jesus is our mediator, our intercessor. He stands in the gap between us and the Father and boldly prays for us, as we read in Hebrews 7:25, which says "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

 

We are to carry out the same ministry on behalf of others. The fundamental idea in these verses is that of making intercession for those who do not know the Lord. We are to stand in the gap for them, praying for God to convict them and save them by His grace! 

 

Thanksgiving: A spirit of gratitude to God. No prayer is complete until we spend some of that time thanking God, for all He has already done in and through our lives. Such as salvation, the abundance of blessings, answered prayers, and, even unanswered prayer. We should thank Him for the fact that He is listening to us, hearing us as we pray. We should thank Him for those things that He is yet to do! Because, as we pray, we are to pray in faith, believing that the things we are asking God to do are already done, even though we can’t see them at the present time. That is the very essence of faith. 

 

As Hebrews 11:1 teaches us "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.^"

 

However, I believe there is a five element, which is often overlooked. It is for all men. Without limitation! Therefore, all men at all levels, regardless of place or position of human society who are without the Lord, they are to be the objects of our prayers, most particularly those who are leaders over us.

 

In verse 2, Paul tells us who we are to pray for; "for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."

 

Beloved, I believe, that there is to be no one in the world who should be beyond the prayers of God’s people! Here, the Apostle Paul specifically mentions those who are in places of authority. As we pray for our family, friends and neighbors, let us not forget to pray for the leaders of our nation, and around the world. They need God's wisdom, in order to be able to carry out the duties of their offices. 

 

As a footnote: At the time the Apostle Paul wrote these words, a man named Nero, who was the Emperor of Rome. Nero, as we know from history, was a wicked, evil man, who even had his own mother and brothers executed to secure his throne. He took Christians, dipped their bodies in pitch and set them on fire, using the light to light his dinner parties. He was a vile and wicked man!

I believe, that there is a message in this for us all today! Even when we do not agree with the policies of the people who lead us, we are to still pray for them. Regardless of how wicked they may be! All the more reason that their work should be bathed in the prayers of God’s saints. I firmly believe that God intervenes in the affairs of men, according to His purpose and plan. He can overrule a wicked leader. He can impress a wicked leader to make godly decisions! Whether he realizes it or not!

We need to pray for those in power, especially right now. Because there are many serious, far reaching and potentially catastrophic decisions that must be made by the leaders of our country, and around the world, we should continually be making intercession for them, their safety and decisions, before the throne of grace!

Over the years, I have had a number of people say, "What is that going to accomplish? What could prayer possibly do with that situation?" 

"… so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."

The Bible describes both that which is accomplished outside of us because of prayer, "quiet and tranquil life" and that which is accomplished inside of us because of prayer, "in all godliness and dignity." The two words used to describe the inner transformation produced by prayer, "godliness"and "dignity" are difficult to find exact synonyms for in English. The word translated godliness means to live knowing realistically, knowing what is required in life with respect to God, your fellow man and yourself. That of course can come only through a life of prayer! The second word translated dignity means that this kind of prayer life gives you a kind of graceful reverence.

 In verses 3 and 4, Paul gives us the answer why we are to pray for the lost. "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

What Paul is saying here that the prayerful life is good and acceptable to God, because it is God’s way of opening up men and women everywhere for salvation. In II Peter 3:9, when Peter says "God is not willing that any should perish."  Here, Paul says virtually that same thing when he says, "God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." 

I believe, that when we pray for people we can expect that they will hear truth that they have never heard before. We can expect that they will see things in a different way than they ever saw them before. Prayer is not some sort of magic wand, therefore, it does not change them immediately. However, it works from the inside out, creating a dramatic and lasting transformation!

Here, in verses 5-6, Paul is making a statement that is of pivotal importance; "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,  who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time." 

Paul points out that the gospel rests on the twin foundations, namely that there is but one God and that there only one mediator.

I realize that it is no longer politically correct to insist that there is only one way to heaven. In the age of "anything goes" tolerance, we hear that all religions are basically the same, that we are all traveling along different roads, and there are many paths to God. The enlightened group will say if you want to take the Muslim pathway to God, that’s okay; if you choose to take the Buddhist pathway, there is no problem; if you want to take the Hindu pathway, or the New Age, its all good, we're all heading to the same destination... The problem with that philosophy is, its WRONG!

Jesus Himself warned us in Matthew chapter 7, verses 13-14; "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

–it’s false. Other than that, it sounds pretty logical. But if you start with a false premise, then all your conclusions are wrong as well.

If you begin with the false premise that there are many paths to God, then everything you surmise after that will be faulty. Of course, all have the freedom to believe whatever they choose, however, I am compelled to advise you, the Bible never suggests that. The Bible does not teach Jesus is one of the many ways to God; nor does it teach Jesus is the best way to God. 

The Bible unequivocally teaches there is only way to heaven , Jesus Christ! Jesus said, in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." I have difficulty understanding how anyone is able to misunderstand that? The Book of Acts, chapter 4, verse 12, it says, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."  I am no genius, but that sounds pretty clear to me! And again, our text says, "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus."

In verse 7, Paul writes " For this I was appointed as a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth."

The word Paul uses. is the Greek word "kērux," which is translated as preacher, in our English language,  is from the verb form kērussō. It has to do with a herald, a proclaimer, a public speaker. In Paul's day, if you had some sort of announcement to be made, you went into the center of town, the city square and you made your announcement. That was the way you communicated your message. That was how it was done. For you younger people, there was no radio, television, internet or any of the things we have available to us today.

 

In Closing...

It is no secret, that sin has disgraced our world. And, I realize that we, as a nation have strayed away from God’s Word. Christians in America are the majority, yet we are doing little to speak, in witness for the Lord. Our words and actions matter, not only in our families, our churches, in the world, but to God!

Psalm 33:12 teaches "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance."

I believe that if we, as the church, want to change the way America is headed, we had better begin to live our lives in all godliness and honesty, and we do that by living according to the standards set forth in God’s Word.

May it be so.. 

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

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