1st Timothy 2:1 (NIV) I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— When the people of God come together, the first thing to be concentrated on is prayer and the recognition of God’s presence. This is the focus of the first 8 verses of 1st Timothy 2. Paul, inspired by God, lists three forms of prayer and one form of praise in verse 1.
First, he says, there are petitions. This is a word which means, “the requests of the people”. Nearly every day we have prayer requests turned in which we email out to the members and pray about before our Bible Studies on Wednesday and Sunday. These requests reflect actual situations of people who are going through times of heartache, struggle, pain and pressures. These people are attempting to share these needs with us so that we can “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). So when you read these requests, pray about them at home, alone or in small groups. God can oftentimes meet these needs through the agency of human beings.
The second category is prayers. That sounds very general for us in English, but in the original language this is a special word that is only used for requests which God alone can meet. We are to bring those before the Lord and pray about them together.
The third form of prayer is “intercessions.” Again, this is a word that has other people in view. It means, “an intimate petition made by a friend to a king on behalf of someone else”. This is a beautiful expression of congregational prayer. Because we are children of the King, we come to our heavenly Father and in the intimacy of that relationship we share with him special needs and special problems that others have. Thus, we make intercession on their behalf.
The final type of prayer Paul urges is one of thanksgiving. Giving of thanks is an essential part of our walk with God. Those who lack a basic sense of gratitude in their lives lack a basic Christian virtue. Paul, inspired by God, consistently writes in his letters (37 times in the NIV) that we should always be giving thanks when we approach God’s throne of grace.
Each type of prayer is distinct in the original Greek language, but those differences are not necessarily the point of Paul’s statement. His purpose is to highlight the need for prayer in the church, rather than particular aspects of prayer such as thanksgiving or requests. This week we continue our series from 1st & 2nd Timothy by focusing on prayer as discussed in 1st Timothy 2:1-8.
Praying everyone has a blessed week.
In Christ,
Gary T.