The prayers of Paul

We are still in the opening prayer of Paul in his first letter to Timothy. The short version is that prayer should be for all by all. For a slightly longer version, read on.

This is a series of the prayers of St Paul found in the letters attributed to him in the order he is believed to have written them. Letters to the same place or person will be treated together with the first letter to that destination.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, ² for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. ³ This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, ⁴ who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. ⁷ For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸ I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling; ⁹ likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire.

1 Timothy 2:1-9 ESVUK

Paul has made an introduction to the young pastor Timothy and was straight into what makes good teaching, which is not about obeying rules, even God’s own law because while it is good ut serves the purpose of saying ‘DANGER keep out’ to bad things, but it does not have the power to transform people. Meeting with Jesus, on the other hand, does have the power to transform people. The prayer that follows is one of praise that he, Paul, has been transformed from someone who opposed Christianity to one who follows Jesus Christ.

Paul often interrupts his prayers. At the end of chapter 1 it was to talk about the battle of faith, reminding Timothy of prophecies that were made over him and to remember them in faith and good conscience. Do not mute the inner voice of conscience, says Paul.

But I would like to look at the second part of the prayer first, verses 8 and 9 I have quoted here, and it goes to the end of the chapter. In the previous chapter Paul has already spoken about not publicly discussing contentious issues, so what is he doing talking about sex roles here? Whatever I say will be contentious. There are men who believe in feminism and women who believe in traditional values, whatever I say will be wrong to some, but here goes…

Verse 8 is to men and it is counter-cultural. It is about prayer which is to be offered by lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling. Anger and quarrelling are seen as masculine qualities, lifting of hands shows vulnerability. Paul is speaking against toxic masculinity, against going after a macho lifestyle and in favour of vulnerability not just before God but also to each other.

To the women, Paul writes words which are often quoted by those against women ministering in the church. Firstly I believe that those men who use this passage in a way that prevents women from ministering are showing the kind of toxic masculinity that Paul warns the men about. Firstly the passage is still about prayer, the respectable apparel is about how they are to dress for the prayer meeting and has nothing to do with how a woman should dress for a night out. In Ephesus, where Timothy was a church leader there was a large temple to the Greek goddess Artemis, called Diana by the Romans. This temple was all about women, they ran the whole show, and yes, they were very ornately dressed. Paul is saying to Christians, don’t be like the pagans. He is challenging the pagan ideas which in Ephesus were giving a false view of what femininity is.

I started writing this whilst the Glastonbury Festival was being transmitted live on TV. Two highlights to me were Louis Capaldi, who has spoken of his issues with Tourettes, was having a lot of tics on stage and finding difficulty singing. The way the crowd lifted him and took over singing his songs was amazing. Capaldi was in tears.

The other was the body positivity of the set by Lizzo. Dressed in a way that large women are not expected to dress, she displayed great musicianship as well as letting people know they do not have to conform to a certain look, both through what she said and through her lyrics.

Through the audience’s reaction to Louis Capaldi and through Lizzo’s act I felt the love of God coming from my TV.

That is what Paul is getting at here, it is the same as what he said in Romans 12, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” That does not mean resisting every change in society, the previous society could be the thing we need to need an escape from, it means coming to God for transformation by the Holy Spirit in you through prayer.

When you pray for others who do you start with? Is it friends and family or your local church? That is not where Paul starts here, though most of his letters remember a list of people who have recently helped him. Paul starts with the government. Paul was awaiting trial under Nero Caesar, persecution was something real at that time, and though still sporadic, persecution would become widespread under later emperors. Pray for kings, says Paul, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life. He was talking about survival. Unlike our prayer lists, which often start with those closest to ourselves and move out, Paul starts with the government. We know that Paul prayed for his friends and relatives but here he says we should start at the other end. We should pray for those who hold the world together by their leadership. It is not about propping up the status quo, or because you agree with their policies, nor is it praying against them, but it is praying for them even if you radically disagree with them. We need good strong and wise government so that the bullies, those who could persecute us or others, do not get their own way.

The Jews had already learnt this lesson in exile in Babylon. Exiled in a country they did not wish to be in. being treated as slaves and longing to return, the prophet Jeremiah told them that they should settle down and pray on behalf of Babylon:

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Jeremiah 29:7

Praying for those in authority, even pagan rulers like Nero Caesar, became the way the gospel was spread in the early days of the church. When the world is at peae the gospel can spread more easily.

What are you waiting for? Get praying.

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