Tag: 1 Timothy 2

Scripture Focus: 1 Timothy 2.1-2
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

Prayer is not a passive, calm, quiet practice. — Tim Keller
Reflection: Thoughts and Prayers
By John Tillman

In our world, there is now pushback against even saying that we will pray over a situation. Thoughts and prayers as a hashtag has become a philosophical battlefield where people of faith and people frustrated by people of faith clash about the efficacy of prayer and the pointlessness of faith without works. (The language is, of course, not that academic.)

This pushback is based on a cultural assumption about prayer and an assumption about those who say they will pray. The first is that prayer is pointless and can’t help any situation. The second is that those who say they will pray, will not actually pray, and worse than that, will not follow through with any actions at all.

The cultural version of this type of empty prayer is engaging in the equally empty gesture of clicktivism—liking or sharing a post about an issue, but doing nothing substantive to address it. In a way, those who are decrying thoughts and prayers are praying unknowingly—they are calling out, they know not to whom, for real, tangible change and action.

The culture Paul was in prayed a lot. Prayer was everywhere. But in no religion was it so personal and direct as in Christianity. The type of prayer that Paul practiced and taught confronted both modern and ancient cultural assumptions and was attractive, not repulsive, to his culture. How?

One reason we see is that the kind of prayer that Paul engages in is fruitful in creating action—good desires and the deeds that follow. Paul’s prayers were not just words, but will and work. According to Paul deeds are prompted by faith, and faith is fueled by prayer life.

It is our actions, growing directly from the cultivated soil of prayer, that bear fruit that our world will gladly partake of.

When we follow the lead of godly, broken-hearted prayer, we will find ourselves acting in undeniably loving ways (against which there is no law), seeking out the lost, marginalized, and broken with Christ’s love, and suddenly realizing that people are no longer repelled by our thoughts and our prayers.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Jesus was at a feast when: “He said to his host, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends and brothers or your relations or rich neighbors, in case they invite you back and repay you. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again.’” — Luke 14.12-14

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Kings 5 (Listen – 5:13)
1 Timothy 2 (Listen -3:17)

Thank You!
Thank you to our donors who support our readers by making it possible to continue The Park Forum devotionals. This year, The Park Forum audiences opened 200,000 emails with free, and ad-free, devotional content. Follow this link to join our donors with a one-time or a monthly gift.

Read more about Praying as Priests
May we pronounce this blessing not with words alone, but in how we live and walk through our world

Praying as Priests

20190429

Read more about Artful Prayers
In the psalms, we…enter the lived emotion of the artists who bared their souls to God in prayers that were always intended to be performed.

Artful Prayers

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2.3-6
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.

Reflection: Further up, Further in
By John Tillman

The Temple was a meticulous structure designed with concentric exclusion of larger and larger groups of people. God was separated from the world with objects and human mediaries standing at the borders.

But the Temple also was a path for people moving toward God—being called closer and closer by the God from whom they were separated. There was a clear pathway, of physical doors, and doors of action, through which anyone could choose to move toward God. At least as close as they were allowed. As close as they could stand.

When one could not enter further, one worshiped through the priests, the intermediaries. The priests took sacrifices to the altar, and returned to you the cooked meat to eat as part of worship.

Anyone could enter the outer courtyard, even Gentiles. Moving inward, the next courtyard was racially segregated—Jews only. The next division was based on sex—men only could proceed. The disabled or disfigured were also excluded. The next barriers were genealogical—only Levites could offer the sacrifices and only descendants of Aaron could be priests before God.

The veil which enclosed the Holy of Holies, rent from top to bottom at the moment of Christ’s death was not the only barrier destroyed that day. Every other gate and door was thrown open by Christ, who named himself the gate. The author of Hebrews compares the veil to Christ’s own body, torn apart to give us access to God.

In Christ, there is no priestly barrier—all are priests with him as our high priest. There is no genealogical barrier, for we are made sons and daughters in Christ. In Christ, there is not male or female, but we are one in him. In Christ there is no abled or disabled, for our weaknesses are transformed in his glory. In Christ racial barriers are destroyed and the division of Babel is reversed. In Christ nationalism is meaningless for we serve a King of Kings and have citizenship in a higher kingdom.

The only barrier to cross on our journey to God is the cross. Christ is the opener of all things and beckons us onward to see, to enter, to access.

The grave is open, that we may see He is risen.
The veil is open, that we may follow our High Priest.
Hell is open if we will but make for the exit.
Heaven is open, if we will but enter.

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…Come further up, come further in!” — C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

Prayer: The Morning Psalm
Hear this, all you peoples; hearken, all you who dwell in the world, you of high degree and low, rich and poor together…We can never ransom ourselves, or deliver to God the price of our life; For the ransom of our life is so great, that we should never have enough to pay it. — Psalm 49.1, 10

– Prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Proverbs 31 (Listen – 2:50)
1 Timothy 2 (Listen – 1:38)

This Weekend’s Readings
Ecclesiastes 1 (Listen – 2:21) 1 Timothy 3 (Listen – 2:10)
Ecclesiastes 2 (Listen – 4:03) 1 Timothy 4 (Listen – 2:05)