We are told in Scripture to pray. Not only are we told to pray but we are also told how to pray. As we look at 1 Timothy 2:1-8, We are going to learn how to pray for the lost.
1 Timothy 2:1-8 says, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 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. 8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."
Praying for the lost is a part of our lives. When someone we love doesn’t know Christ, it’s natural to pray for his conversion. The Bible is replete with examples of this type of praying.
When you look in the Old Testament, for example, we hear Moses pray in Numbers 11:1-2 for God not to consume the unbelieving, complaining Israelites in fiery judgment. It says, “Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and when Moses prayed to the Lord, the fire was quenched.”
What did Moses pray regarding the unbelieving Israelites? Numbers 14:19 gives us our answer. Moses prayed, “Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”
Moses, a man of God and leader of Israel, expressed to God his heart’s burning desire for Israel’s salvation. He prayed that God would “pardon” their “iniquity...according to the greatness of Your mercy.” This is evangelistic praying. This is praying for the greatest need a person has need of—forgiveness of sin.
We also see this in 1 Samuel 12:23-25. In this passage, we hear Samuel says to the Israelites: “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. 24 Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.” In other words, Samuel was saying not only that his praying for the Israelites was important, but that it was sin not to pray. If Samuel failed to pray that his people would fear the Lord and serve Him, they would have been consumed in their wickedness. And that right there is believing that the “effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” as James 5:16 says. Samuel’s prayer was for the conversion of unredeemed Israelites to return to the Lord and put away their idols. In 1 Samuel 7:3-5, “Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." 4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. 5 And Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” His prayer was an evangelistic prayer where he petitioned God to be merciful and forgive their sin.
In the New Testament, we hear as Stephen is being stoned to death his prayer: “"Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:60). This was an evangelistic prayer for God to forgive His people of their sin and grant them salvation. Paul said in Romans 9:2 that he had “great sorrow and continual grief in [his] heart.” He explains why in verse 3: “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh.” In 10:1 he says, “my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.”
Praying for those who aren’t saved is clearly a biblical principle. Paul gives a full explanation of that kind of praying in 1 Timothy 2. Before we look specifically at this passage, let me give you its context.
Something is wrong at the church at Ephesus. The church was not committed to praying for all people, or more specifically, they were not committed to the truth that God wants all people saved. And when they were praying, they were praying with dirty hands and angry, dissenting hearts. In chapter 1:7-11 there was a Judaizing element in the church that claimed God would save only those who kept the Mosaic law. The result of that teaching was an exclusiveness that limited salvation to those who kept the law. According to 6:20-21, there were some Gentiles in the church that developed their own exclusiveness to salvation. There’s was rooted in philosophy which later developed into gnosticism. They believed that salvation belonged only to the elite, initiated people who reached a certain level of knowledge. They believed they had mystical experiences with various sub-gods and angelic beings, which Paul identified in 4:1 as demons. Because of all of this exclusiveness, a severe error was being taught regarding salvation. As Paul concludes this letter, he says to Timothy in 6:20-21: “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge-- 21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.”
The error of the Ephesian church was the extent of salvation. One group claimed that only those who kept the law could be saved while another group said that salvation was reserved for those who had reached a particular level of knowledge. Everyone else was left out. 1 Timothy 2:1-8 attacks that narrow perspective. As Paul writes this, he wants the Ephesian church to realize that God desires all people to be saved.
Paul begins chapter two by saying, “I exhort.” He could have commanded them, but instead he uses a word that refers to begging, beseeching, or urging because of a sense of urgency. A command bears authority; an exhortation bears passion. A command comes from a king, an exhortation comes from a loved one. Paul came as a passionate apostle, knowing that prayer isn’t forced by a command but prompted by the heart.
The Greek word translated “therefore” in verse 1 tells us Paul’s exhortation is based on what he said—that Timothy had been given a divine commission to stand up for the faith. So Paul stresses by the phrase “first of all” the priority of evangelistic praying. Paul says, “Therefore, I exhort first of all,” and then he launches into his instruction on praying for the lost.
The church must remember why it is in the world; to reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. If the church entertains a theology that limits the scope of the gospel, that priority will be ignored. We as believers must realize that God desires all people to be saved and that we, therefore, are called to pray with holy hands and a pure heart for all people.
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