Sermon26-30 1Tim2 "Dimension of Prayer" Guide

1 Tim 2:1-8 theme verse 1 Tim 2:1

The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.

In this twenty fifth Sunday of the year 2026, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life. Last week, on the third Sunday of ordinary season after Pentecost, through Matthew t, we looked at what the prayer is and how we have to pray, yet on this third Sunday of Ordinary season after Pentecost, through 1 Tim 2, we would like to think about the dimension of prayer are together.

1)    To begin with, 1 Timothy from which we read today’s text, is as one of the Pastoral Epistles, I mean, the 1 and 2 Epistles to Timoty who was left to minister in Ephesus, and the Epistle to Titus who was ministering in Crete.

Generally, it is said that Paul wrote this fist Epistle to Timothy, after his release from imprisonment in Rome, around AD 64, to Timothy who was serving as a pastor in Ephesus, to provide various guidelines essential for pastoral ministry.

In this letter, first, Paul addressed the false teachers, specifically those from the circumcision party, who were disrupting the church at the time. He pointed out the errors in their teachings were their preoccupation with Jewish myths and genealogies, their asceticism which was influenced by early Gnosticism, and their false claim that the resurrection had already occurred so that it was said that these teachings had sparked disputes, arguments, and foolish controversies, as well as conflicts between factions.

Therefore, when he left Ephesus to go to Macedonia, Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus, instructing him to command these false teachers not to teach different doctrines or become engrossed in myths and endless genealogies,

while emphasizing that sound and gospel-based teaching is to work in love that springs from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

Yet since Timothy was well-versed in the Gospel and the Scriptures, through this Epistle, he wanted to give more practical advice on church administration and to  encourage him, because of his young age and relative lack of experience. There, Paul wrote this pastoral epistle to encourage him while warning him about how to confront the threat of heretical teachings.

2)    So, after he exhorted, “Son Timothy, I command you by this teaching, according to the prophecy that was given to you before, so that you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience,” in 1:18,

and then, he opened the chapter 2 in 2:1 & 2 that “Therefore, first of all, I urge that supplications, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all who are in authority,” and “that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and decency”.

In particular, he exhorted Timothy public prayer in verses 1-8, in which he said in verses 1 and 2 about the importance of prayer in ministry, the diversity of prayer, and the objects of prayer.

And then in verses 3 to 4 he talked about the reasons for praying, while in verses 5 to 7, he presented the basis for prayers and then finally in verse 8, he mentioned three essential elements of effective prayer.

Therefore, I hope that we could learn few lessons, by meditating on each one in more details together.

3)    First, in chapter 1, Paul told Timothy not to let false teachers who had a wrong understand of the law, teach other doctrines, such as Jewish mythology and genealogy. And then he exhorted him to command them to walk in love which comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. And then, in Chapter 2, he first exhorted him, saying, “Therefore, first of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people.”

As such, Paul's first pastoral exhortation was “public prayer,” emphasizing the importance and priority of prayer in ministry.

So the reason why prayer is so important in ministry is that:

First, since the church is the pillar and foundation of God's truth, and the owner of the church is Jesus Christ, the head of the church, and the Holy Spirit is the One who runs the church, the ministry should be first based on the prayer to subject to God and ask for God to work.

And second, the word which was translated as truth is the Greek ‘ἀλήθεια (alesseia)’, which means ‘revealing something hidden’, so that the truth is the revelation of Jesus Christ. However, since God has to give the heart to understand, therefore, we have to pray that God will give us a heart to understand the revelation of divine truth, when we read and listen to the Word of truth.

And thirdly, as the truth, the word of God, changes people, yet in fact, since it is God who changes people through the word, therefore, as a minister of the Word, when we preach His Word, we have to pray that God may transform people through His Word of truth.

4)    And then, in verses 1, Paul introduces four types of prayer, I mean, supplication, prayer, intercession, and thanksgiving.

Here” supplication" refer to asking God to provide our needs. Typically, in this prayer, the prayer prays as a child of God, to make their needs known to God the Father.

And the "prayer" goes beyond merely expressing our needs, I mean, it signifies meeting God, conversing with Him, and having intimate fellowship. This prayer can be described as a prayer characterized by a loving relationship—where the prayer loves God as God loves him or her as lovers do.

And then,” intercession" refers to pleading on behalf of others before God. In this prayer, the prayer becomes a co-worker with God, to ask for the well-being of the person for whom they are praying.

Finally, it is said there’s "thanksgiving" in which prayer expresses gratitude for who God is and als for all that God has done and continues to do for us through His grace. Here, the prayer stands as a worshiper, acknowledging God as the Creator and Sovereign Ruler of the universe. In this prayer, the prayer not only gives thanks because God answered to the prayers but also based on who God is and for all the gracious acts for humanity and His creation.

5)    And thirdly Paul commanded to pray for all people first of all as the object of public prayer so that we can see that no one on earth is outside the influence of the prayer of faith. In other words, we have to pray not only for the saved but also for the unsaved, for both those close to us and those far away, not only for our friends but also even for our enemies. But, unfortunately, I think the Pharisees did not understand this universal perspective of prayer and only prayed for the Israelites.

And then, Paul also specifically asked to pray for kings and all those in high positions. Through this commandment, we can know that even he exhorted them to pray for Emperor Nero and the Roman leaders who began to persecute Christians at the time. This tells us that we have to pray for those in authority even whom we cannot respect. Because first of all, their position and authority come from God, so not only should we pray for them, but in fact, this is for our own benefit, as he said “so that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

Then, in verses 3 and 4 he told us the reason for prayer too. I mean, he said prayer is good and acceptable to God so that prayer can bring many good benefits and also praying according to God's will so that God will accomplish His will on earth as it is in heaven and be pleased.

6)    And then Paul provided in verses 5–7 the basis for our prayer. I mean, he says that Jesus Christ who is the one and only Mediator between God and people is the basis for our prayer, because of the work of Jesus Christ, who is both our Savior and our Mediator.

In other words, God wants all people to be saved and to come to know the truth so that Jesus Christ gave His life as a ransom for all people. And Paul was called to be a teacher to the Gentiles so that the gospel could be preached to the whole world.

Therefore, as followers of Jesus, we have to pray for all people. I mean, we have to pray for the salvation of all people in the world, regardless of their background or differences, I mean, whether they are Jews or Gentiles, rich or poor, religious or non-religious. Therefore, as God desires all people to be saved, praying for all people can please our God who is love.

7)    And then Paul says the attitude or posture when offering such public prayer is that

In verse 8, Paul said that, “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or dispute.”

First, here, the Greek word translated as “men” is andros (ἀνδρός). Technically, it refers to a male person, yet, in some contexts, it can carry a broader meaning, such as humanity.

However, in today’s text, since verse 9 explicitly distinguishes women by saying, “Likewise also that women…,” and proceeds to give instructions specifically addressed to the women of the Ephesian church, so in light of this contrast, it is clear that andros in this context intentionally refers to the men rather than people in general.

And also the second reason why I think Paul addresses only men here is the best understanding is the Jewish tradition of that time, I mean, in the first century, men were typically responsible for leading public prayers. Therefore, we’d better understand this instruction as a practical guideline concerning the order of public worship in the early church, rather than understand it as a common command that only men should pray even in this modern church, where the equality of men and women is recognized and practiced in church for prayer.

Anyhow, in verse 8, Paul tried to provide  three qualifications for those who lead public prayer, I mean, the prayer have to with “holy hands,” “without anger” and “dispute.”

Here the “holy hands” refers to having a right relationship with God, while “without dispute” means that a person should be in a right relationship with fellow believers, free from conflict and quarrels, while “without anger” means that the one who prays should approach God with a peaceful heart, free from resentment and hostility.

8)    While the Lord ministered on this earth, as He would rise before dawn, withdraw to a solitary place, and pray as was His custom (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16) and also even now, being resurrected, raised and seated at the right hand of God, He continues to intercede for us (Romans 8:34), therefore, I believe that we, too being called as His church on earth, have to offer supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for all people. So, I pray that throughout this year, we may all lift up holy hands and pray for all people so that God’s will may be fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven and that His kingdom come, thereby pleasing God.

Key Questions as Small Group Activity

Q1 Through today’s text, we became to know that public pray is for all people and also for kings and those who have authority, since it is good and pleases God. So after reflecting our life and checking whether we are living the life of these prayers, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Q2 And also, we became to know that we have to pray lifting holy hands, I mean, in the right relationship with God, and without disputes, which means we have a right relationship with others and also without anger, which means with peaceful mind. So after reflecting our life and checking whether we are pray in these mindset and attitude, I hope we can share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Love you. Thank you. God bless you.

Prayer Note

Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!

Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or  even during the week )

Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!

Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),

please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized   ).

I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon                                    )

Please help me to live in that (  learned way of life                                                )

I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.