1 Timothy 2: 1-7
1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all
—this was attested at the right time. 7 For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth,[a] I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
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What if we really prayed for everyone? While prayers for family, friends, and those we count as allies might come easily, that isn’t always the case for those whom we’ve never met, those with whom we disagree, and those we perhaps consider enemies. Yet, this segment of the pastoral letter of 1 Timothy notes that if we claim the authority of God, including the “one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus,” as followers of Christ, we are called to pray for all whom Christ came to save: all of humankind.
As 21st-century readers of this text, while we grapple with systems of oppression and injustice, it is worth noting and naming that those very systems have not afforded a “quiet and peaceable life” for all, as those “kings and all who are in high positions” have not sought a life of “godliness and dignity” for all. What do we do in the face of long-held structures that divide instead of unite, pulling us away from our shared salvation in Christ? Perhaps we do what we’ve always been called to do, and what we are reminded of here: we pray.
- For whom or what is easy to pray in your life? For whom or what is it difficult? For whom do you think it is difficult to pray for you?
- How might you begin to pray for those for whom it is difficult to offer prayers? How might that shift perspective, action, and relationship?
This Bible study, written by Andrew Gordon
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The 15th Sunday after Pentecost