May 5 - First Thing: Pray

Diane says:
As Paul begins to set out his expectations for Timothy and the church in Ephesus, the first thing he wants to deal with is the most important thing: Prayer.

The four words that Paul uses in verse 1: requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving define a pretty well-rounded prayer life. They are 4 of 7 words in Greek used to denote prayer. The word 'prayers' is translated from a word that describes the sacredness of the act. Intercession comes from a word that means to draw near to a person and converse confidently with him.

What is a mediator? One who perfectly represents both sides in an issue. Jesus, as both God and man represents this and when He offered Himself as the ransom, He set the stage for restoration between God and His children. Jesus' timing was perfect and Paul finds himself positioned to bring the gospel to the Gentiles.

Rebecca says:
The first thing that Paul 'urges' Timothy to do is pray. I was rather taken aback by that. Timothy was no stranger to prayer. He grew up with a praying mother and was being mentored by a praying man. This would be the same as urging him to drink or breathe. So why would Paul have to urge him to pray?

I thought about that for about a day and a half, and then right in the middle of my lemon poppyseed muffin, I remembered my older sister and how God used her to teach me a lesson.

My older sister drives me crazy. I’m not talking the usual sibling rivalry crazy, I’m talking 'straight jacket, lock me in a padded room and feed me through a straw' crazy. From the time she was 15, she has never spent more than 2 days as a single woman. The breakup routine is ALWAYS the same. She calls and cries, I console and comfort, she yells and vents, and I IMPLORE her to try to stay single until she is on her feet and feeling stronger and healthier.

I want her to know what it is like to let God raise you up and sustain you rather than some second rate guy. I want her to see His firm foundation and how absolutely over the moon in love with her that He is. I want her to allow Him to heal her and wipe her tears, and show her how absolutely incredible she is. She is strong, brilliant, witty, intelligent, and beautiful and has the perseverance of a champion. For some reason God gives me these glimpses into her soul where I see all of that. and how good it could be. I get so hungry for her to taste it that I go all 'Jo Jo the circus monkey' on her and then inevitably within three days she has moved on to the next guy and the cycle begins again.

I finally got fed up. I told God I couldn't take it anymore. I didn’t want those glimpses into her soul, and I didn’t want to understand why she was doing what she was doing, and I didn’t want to care at all about any of it because it was fruitless. And my lesson began.

God didn't give me insight and understanding so that I could fix her or be her savior. That role is already covered. I was frustrated because I was using that information for the wrong purpose. His desire was for me to take all the information He was supplying and to use it to better intercede for her. His desire was prayer - not perfection.

Finally, I was equipped to bring this situation to the One who could make an everlasting difference. It would be there at the throne of grace that I would be reminded that while I only see a portion, He sees the human frailties as well as the divine hope. It is why He is the one mediator between God and men. On my knees I remember that she is loved by someone far greater than me and suddenly the spirit of discouragement and judgment is replaced by His hope and peace.

In Timothy’s situation weakness, shortcomings, and failures would be clearly revealed to him as he pressed forward with this church. Paul knew that without prayer those revelations could quickly turn into judgments and frustration, leading to strife, malice and unrest. But if those same revelations were brought to the throne with prayer, they could be used for more powerful intercession and peace, hope and a quiet life could be tasted by all. It is in the stillness, the quiet moments that God’s glory is unleashed and He is able to dazzle us with His miraculous hand.

It often seems that these eyes of mine can turn to judgment when I see a weakness in my neighbor. It is easy to spot shortcomings and insecurities and I need to remember that if I see them, they are not there for me to make a judgment or point a finger at or even fix. They were exposed so that I could use them as a tool for more powerful intercession on their behalf. I just hope I can remember that when it comes to kings, rulers and even sisters who drive a girl crazy. They all are precious in God's sight and every single one of them should be handled with prayer.