I finally got back to finishing up this passage I had looked at a couple weeks ago. This is the final verse and my final thoughts on prayer from 1 Timothy 2.
"I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling." - 1 Timothy 2:8
In this verse, every place, refers to what would be considered our corporate worship services today. It was where and when the church gathered together to worship. Paul was encouraging the people to step up and be leaders, especially through prayer. I know at our church right now, we've had to have many people step up in different areas to help us keep things on track and moving forward. Each church's current situation is different but all churches need volunteers willing to step up, lead, and pray.
As Paul goes on to write about lifting holy hands, he's not giving us instructions for how to hold our hands during prayer. Rather, he is using imagery here to tell us to live a clean/holy - life/hands. It doesn't matter where you put your hands when you pray, it's where you put your mind and your heart that God is concerned with.
Living without anger or quarreling is so vital to every relationship in our lives, both personally and as a church. I honestly didn't use any notes when I got to this section speaking that Wednesday night. I had studied the text but wanted to just share whatever the Lord laid on my heart at that point. That being said, I still didn't write it down and don't remember what I said that night so here we go again. I believe that it's okay to get mad and upset sometimes. How we act during those times may become a sin, but those feelings are okay. We are all created differently and have different opinions about things, many of which may not be right or wrong. Baskin Robbins has 31 different flavors of ice cream, not just vanilla, so having differing opinions is fine. Ephesians 4:26 tells us, "Be angry and do not sin." It's when we get sucked into quarreling that relationships begin to deteriorate. Some of us are mature enough to hold that emotion on the inside not act out against others, but if we're quarreling internally with someone, it can be just as harmful. John MacArthur refers to quarreling as "a hesitant reluctance to be committed to prayer."
Dear Heavenly Father,
I pray that we will have leaders step up in our church, and all churches to help point us toward you. I pray that we will have a heavy reliance on prayer, and You, to provide for the church. Thank you for those who dedicate their time and talents to helping grow your church and spread your Word. I pray that you would strengthen those in leadership roles in the church and help them to live holy lives before you and before the world. So often, the world waits on a Christian to make a mistake, but we know we're not perfect, only forgiven.
And Lord, please be with anyone who is angry right now. Help them to know if it's a healthy anger that can motivate them, or a destroying anger that is damaging relationships. Let us not quarrel over matters, especially trivial ones. But I pray that we would lay our burdens before you, and take them to our brothers and sisters in Christ in gentleness and love, instead of bad-mouthing them to others. Thank you for the instruction you give us in your Word. I ask you to be with our church leaders again Lord, and pray that more people would begin to pray in every place. Amen.
"I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling." - 1 Timothy 2:8
In this verse, every place, refers to what would be considered our corporate worship services today. It was where and when the church gathered together to worship. Paul was encouraging the people to step up and be leaders, especially through prayer. I know at our church right now, we've had to have many people step up in different areas to help us keep things on track and moving forward. Each church's current situation is different but all churches need volunteers willing to step up, lead, and pray.
As Paul goes on to write about lifting holy hands, he's not giving us instructions for how to hold our hands during prayer. Rather, he is using imagery here to tell us to live a clean/holy - life/hands. It doesn't matter where you put your hands when you pray, it's where you put your mind and your heart that God is concerned with.
Living without anger or quarreling is so vital to every relationship in our lives, both personally and as a church. I honestly didn't use any notes when I got to this section speaking that Wednesday night. I had studied the text but wanted to just share whatever the Lord laid on my heart at that point. That being said, I still didn't write it down and don't remember what I said that night so here we go again. I believe that it's okay to get mad and upset sometimes. How we act during those times may become a sin, but those feelings are okay. We are all created differently and have different opinions about things, many of which may not be right or wrong. Baskin Robbins has 31 different flavors of ice cream, not just vanilla, so having differing opinions is fine. Ephesians 4:26 tells us, "Be angry and do not sin." It's when we get sucked into quarreling that relationships begin to deteriorate. Some of us are mature enough to hold that emotion on the inside not act out against others, but if we're quarreling internally with someone, it can be just as harmful. John MacArthur refers to quarreling as "a hesitant reluctance to be committed to prayer."
Dear Heavenly Father,
I pray that we will have leaders step up in our church, and all churches to help point us toward you. I pray that we will have a heavy reliance on prayer, and You, to provide for the church. Thank you for those who dedicate their time and talents to helping grow your church and spread your Word. I pray that you would strengthen those in leadership roles in the church and help them to live holy lives before you and before the world. So often, the world waits on a Christian to make a mistake, but we know we're not perfect, only forgiven.
And Lord, please be with anyone who is angry right now. Help them to know if it's a healthy anger that can motivate them, or a destroying anger that is damaging relationships. Let us not quarrel over matters, especially trivial ones. But I pray that we would lay our burdens before you, and take them to our brothers and sisters in Christ in gentleness and love, instead of bad-mouthing them to others. Thank you for the instruction you give us in your Word. I ask you to be with our church leaders again Lord, and pray that more people would begin to pray in every place. Amen.
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