Pray for All Men

First of all (2:1). “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” Paul tells Timothy what comes first for God’s people. Before anything else, they pray. Exhort. To exhort is to urge someone strongly. He really wants Timothy and the believers to do this. Four words for prayer. Supplications are requests: we ask God for what someone lacks. Prayers are talking with God. Intercessions are coming to God on behalf of another person. Giving of thanks is telling God thank You. For all men. All men here means all people: boys and girls, men and women, friends and strangers, near and far. Nobody left out. There is no one God’s people should skip when they pray. That includes the kid who sits alone at lunch. Thanks too. We can thank God for the people He has put in our lives, even when they are not easy to be around. Why prayer comes first. Prayer puts people in God’s hands. Only God changes hearts. What this means for you. Make a short list: someone at home, someone at school and someone you do not know well. Pray for each one this week, and thank God for them.

First of all (2:1). “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” These words mark what matters most, not only what comes first in a list. Prayer is the first work of the church. Exhort. Paul does not merely suggest. He urges Timothy, who was leading the believers in Ephesus, to make prayer central. Four kinds of prayer. Supplications are requests that come from need. Prayers is the broad word for speaking to God. Giving of thanks is gratitude offered to God. Intercessions. The word is enteuxis (say: ENT-yook-sis), a word used for coming before a king with a request. To intercede is to come before the King of heaven and speak up for someone else. Believers may do this freely because of Christ (2:5). For all men. The reach is everyone, with no group left out: believers and unbelievers, friends and opponents, people near and far. Gratitude for people. Thanksgiving belongs in prayer for others. Thanking God for a person changes the way we see that person. Application. Write four names: one person you need to ask God to help, one you want to thank Him for, one who does not know Christ and one you find difficult. Pray for each one by name.

Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, a young leader in God’s church. Paul told him what to do first of all. God’s people should pray for all people. Praying is talking to God. We can ask God for the things people need. Ask Him to help someone who is sad. We can also thank God for people. Praying for others is one way to love them. Talk to God about your family and friends. Remember the new kid as well. Hard-to-love people need prayer too. God hears each prayer for someone else.

Paul said to pray for every person. We tell God what they need. We say thank You for them too.

For kings (2:2). “For kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” Paul names the top leaders first. In authority. Authority is the job of leading others and making decisions for them. Today that includes leaders of nations, governors, mayors and judges. It also includes principals, teachers, coaches, pastors and parents. The rulers of Paul’s day. When Paul wrote this, the emperor of Rome did not follow Jesus, and many officials were unkind to Christians. Paul still told believers to pray for them. Even when we disagree. We pray for leaders we like and leaders we do not agree with. God cares about every one of them, and He can help them do what is right. What to ask. We can ask God to give leaders wisdom, to help them be fair, to keep people safe and to bring them to know Jesus. A quiet and peaceable life. Paul gives a reason: that we may live calm, peaceful lives. When leaders rule well, people can live and worship God without fear. Godliness and reverence. Godliness means living in a way that pleases God. Reverence means deep respect. A peaceful life gives room to love God and treat people well. Praying is not obeying everything. Praying for a leader never means doing something wrong because that person tells you to. If any grown-up asks you to do wrong or to hide a secret that makes you feel uneasy, tell a parent or another grown-up who keeps you safe. It is never your fault. What this means for you. Choose one leader in your town and one at your school. Use their names when you pray this week.

Kings and all in authority (2:2). “For kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” Paul moves from all people to those who govern them. Under Rome. Paul wrote under Roman emperors who did not know Christ, and believers often faced unfriendly officials. He still told them to pray for their rulers, because God rules over every ruler. Every level. The phrase reaches from national leaders to judges, mayors, school principals, church leaders and parents. Across every disagreement. Prayer for leaders does not depend on whether we like their decisions. Believers pray for those they disagree with and ask God for their good. Quiet and peaceable. Quiet is hesychios (say: hay-SOO-khee-os), calm and undisturbed. Paul pictures believers living settled lives, free to worship and to do good. Godliness and reverence. Godliness is a life shaped by love for God. Reverence is seriousness and dignity in how we live. A peaceful society gives room for both. Prayer is not blind obedience. Praying for those in charge never means doing wrong when someone in authority demands it. If any adult pressures you to do wrong or to keep something hidden that makes you uneasy, speak up to a parent or another adult who keeps you safe. It is never your fault. Application. Pick a national leader, a local leader and a school leader. Pray for wisdom, fairness and salvation for each one this week.

Paul told God’s people to pray for kings. He also said to pray for all who are in charge. Today that means leaders of countries, cities and towns. It means principals, teachers, coaches and pastors. It means moms, dads and grandparents too. We ask God to give them wisdom. Ask Him to help them be fair and kind. We pray for leaders even when we do not agree with them. When leaders rule well, people can live quiet, peaceful lives. Praying for a leader is not the same as obeying every order. You may always say no to something wrong. Afterward, tell a parent or another grown-up who keeps you safe. It is never your fault.

We pray for our leaders. We ask God to make them fair and kind. But we never do wrong just because someone says to.

Good and pleasing (2:3). “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” Praying for all people is good, and God is glad when we do it. God our Savior. A Savior rescues people from danger. God rescues people from sin and brings them to Himself. What God wants (2:4). God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Desires means really wants. God’s heart is open to every person. Saved. When God saves you, He rescues you from sin and its punishment and welcomes you into His family. The knowledge of the truth. This truth is the good news about Jesus. God wants people not only to hear it but to know it and believe it. Why this matters for prayer. Since God wants all people to be saved, we can pray for anyone to come to know Jesus. No one is out of God’s reach. No favorites. God does not care more about rich people, smart people or people who look like us. His love reaches every person. What this means for you. Think of a person you know who has not trusted Jesus yet. Talk to God about that person each day this week, and be kind to him or her.

Good and acceptable (2:3). “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” Prayer for all people is not a side issue; it is what pleases God. God our Savior. Paul gives God the title Savior. Salvation starts in the heart of God, not in the efforts of people. His desire (2:4). God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Here we see God’s heart toward the whole world. He wants no one to stay lost. Saved and knowing. Being saved is rescue from sin and its penalty. Coming to the knowledge of the truth is understanding and believing the gospel. The two belong together. Prayer and mission. Because God’s desire reaches everyone, believers pray for everyone, and they tell the gospel to everyone. The way of salvation. God’s desire does not mean people are saved apart from Christ. Paul goes on at once to name the only way: the one Mediator (2:5). Each person is saved by trusting Him. Application. Keep a list of people you want to come to know Christ. Pray for them by name, and ask God for an opening to share the gospel.

Paul said praying for everyone is good. It pleases God, who is our Savior. God saves people from their sin, so He is our Savior. Paul wrote that God wants all people to be saved. God does not want one person to miss out. He also wants everyone to know the truth. That truth is the gospel, the good news of Jesus. That is why we pray for all people. Do you have a friend who does not know Jesus? Talk to God about that friend often. Pray for your teacher and your neighbors too. God hears each one of those prayers.

God loves each person He made. He wants everyone to be saved. We can ask Jesus to show our friends His love.

One God (2:5). “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” There is one true God. One Mediator. A mediator is a go-between who stands in the middle and can reach both sides. Our sin left a gap between us and a holy God. Jesus is the only One who can stand in that gap. Long ago Job wished for someone to stand between him and God. Many Christians see Jesus as the answer to Job’s wish. The Man Christ Jesus. Jesus is God the Son, who lived before the world. He was born as a real man. Since He is God, He can reach God fully. Because He is a man, He can reach us. No one else. Being good, going to church or growing up in a Christian family cannot take Jesus’ place. Jesus Himself said that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). A ransom (2:6). Jesus “gave Himself a ransom for all.” A ransom is what it costs to buy someone back. Jesus paid for our sins with His own life when He died on the cross, and then He rose again. For all. The ransom was given for all. No one is too bad to be forgiven, and everyone who trusts Jesus is welcome. In due time. “To be testified in due time.” God sent Jesus at exactly the right time in history, just as He planned. Paul’s job (2:7). Paul says he was “appointed a preacher and an apostle” and “a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” Gentiles are people who are not Jewish. God sent Paul to tell the good news to the nations. What this means for you. Thank Jesus that He is the way to God. Then pray for a chance to tell a friend about Him.

One God (2:5). “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” Because one God rules all people, there is one way to Him for every nation. That is why prayer reaches all men. The reason. One God and one Mediator for everyone is the reason believers pray for everyone. Mediator. Mediator is mesites (say: meh-SEE-tays), someone who stands in the middle between two parties to make peace. Sin put us on the wrong side of a holy God. Only someone who fully belongs to both sides could close that distance. The Man Christ Jesus. Paul stresses that Jesus is truly human. The eternal Son became a man, so He can stand for us. He never stopped being God, so He can bring us all the way to God. Job longed for someone to stand between him and God. Many Christians see that longing answered in the Man Christ Jesus. Ransom (2:6). “Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” Ransom is antilytron (say: an-TEE-loo-tron), a price paid in the place of another. Jesus did not only pay; He took our place. Gave Himself. The price was not silver or gold; it was Jesus Himself, freely given on the cross. God raised Him from the dead, showing that the price was accepted. In due time. At the moment God had set, the ransom was paid and the message went out. History moves on God’s timetable. Paul’s appointment (2:7). “For which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” A preacher announces a message; an apostle is one sent with Christ’s authority. Paul’s call to the nations flows straight from God’s desire for all people. Application. If there is only one way to God, the message matters. Ask God this week for one conversation where you can point a friend to Christ.

There is only one God. Jesus is the one way to reach Him. Jesus is both God and a real person like us. Our sin made a big gap between us and God. Jesus came to stand in that gap. God’s Word gives Him a special name: Mediator. A mediator is a go-between who can reach both sides. Jesus gave Himself on the cross for our sins. Then God raised Him from the dead! Long ago a man named Job wished for a go-between. Many Christians see Jesus as the one Job wished for. God chose Paul to teach people from every land about Jesus. You can share the good news too.

No one but Jesus can bring us to God. He gave Himself for us on the cross. Paul told many people about Jesus.

🎉 All Matched!