1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NLT)
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.”
You might think that everyone knows how to open their mouths and pray, but you’d be surprised to learn that there are many people who don’t. Some have been content to listen to others pray, and some are intimated by the extraordinary spiritual practice of prayer. They don’t want to get it wrong, so they opt not to try, but prayer is too important to a believer’s life to neglect. 1Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to never stop praying. This doesn’t mean that we’re praying consistently 24/7. God is telling us to make prayer a habit pattern, so much so that we pray during any amount of spare time we have.
God would not tell us to make prayer a habit, and then not tell us how to pray. He tells us to talk to Him often, to tell Him what we want and need, and to trust that He hears our prayers. Jesus Christ informed us that one of the principal things is to pray that God’s Will is done on earth as it is in heaven. This gives us more insight about 1Timothy 2:1-2, because our prayers shouldn’t only be about us, we should be asking God to help others, interceding on their behalf. Our faith should be the conduit to connect the peace of God to the circumstances and conditions of the people we’re praying for.
God also instructs us to pray with an attitude of gratitude. This stirs up our faith, because we’re to thank Him for receiving what we’ve prayed about before it actually manifests in the natural realm. Our hearts should be so anchored in confidence towards God’s goodness, that we know our requests are as good as done. Our faith is the title deed for the thing of which we’ve prayed.
Heavenly Father makes it clear that we should also pray in gratitude and faith for those that are in governmental roles of leadership; those that are in positions of power and authority within the world system. They can make the kinds of decisions that will allow us to live a peaceful and quiet life. The world around us has become divisive, and in many cases barbaric and evil, but we, as Christians, don’t have the luxury of keeping our mouths closed. We must pray for people in governmental authority, that they preserve a peaceful existence for all of us, one that helps Christians continue to live with Godly integrity.
Jesus Christ tells us in Mark 11:24(NLT), “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.” What a tremendous gift God has given us through the Lord Jesus Christ, to be able to pray and receive. When we understand the power of praying in faith, we can’t help but to understand that it is a luxury we can’t afford to miss. Even if you don’t consider yourself to be good at praying, pray any way. God knows your heart. For those of us who have made prayer a habit pattern, we need to be ever so careful that we never take prayer for granted. Sometimes, we can become dull in our approach to the Kingdom, and not engage our faith with the zeal of expectation. Every prayer should be one of expectation to receive from God’s throne of grace, because He answers our prayers. We must always remember that our faith in God conveys our gratitude for who He is and all that He does.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“A Luxury We Can’t Afford to Miss”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2018. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.