A brief summary of 2:1-7, courtesy of another brother.
What are the implications for the church then and today? Paul, by the Holy Spirit, penned this very letter so that we could know. The charge presented in chapter one is explained in the remaining chapters.
Therefore ... All men are important, there are no exceptions. Even kings and all that are in authority. This would include rich men and those who outwardly are our enemies. We need to pray for them so we ourselves can live the right kind of life inwardly (quiet and peaceable). And we need to be light to those that oppose themselves.
Jesus has provided a way for every one of us to be saved, and we should see every man as having a chance to be saved. We all (men and women) need to have a good attitude towards all men (giving of thanks over, etc.) including those in authority. God wants to use our life to help lead people to repentance and the forgiveness of sins. A godly life is good and acceptable in God's sight.
Notice that I am not putting down speaking, because in this letter Timothy is commanded to charge others, which involves speaking. Praying and speaking are biblically balanced so that our attitude of loving God will reflect both. We need to pray continuously in order to know God's will (1Thess. 5:17; pray without ceasing). And we need to speak His will so that the world can know God's plan of salvation (Rom. 10:14; how shall they hear...), and for the edifying of the body of Christ (Eph 4:8, 11-13; and gave gifts unto men ... for the perfecting of the saints...).
2:1
Chapter 1 focused on the charge. It focused on holding people to the Word of God, and how to use the Word lawfully. It ended with a summary of the charge, and an example of it being carried out. Chapter 2 zooms out, as it were, to the lifestyle behind the actions (also see vs. 8,9). The context is still how to help people the best, because God wants their best. He wants people to be saved. That's the context in both chapters.
This teaching on prayer in no way contradicts the previous verses on speaking. Both should be happening. Here we are focusing in on a lifestyle of prayer, which helps us have the words to speak. They are complementary, not contradictory, and prayer needs to come first of all. He doesn't exhort us that we should pray afterwards.
In high school, our wrestling and basketball seasons were at the same time. You couldn't do both. You had to choose one or the other. But we don't have to choose between prayer and speaking. Our sport is fighting for people's souls, and speaking and prayer go together like physical fitness and learning. Like chips and dip, like peanut butter and jelly, like faith and works, they go wonderfully together.
I exhort therefore. What is the therefore there for? It is there because Christ Jesus came to save sinners (1:15, 2:4), and we are doing whatever we can to help that goal be accomplished. In light of all that has been said in chapter 1, there is something that needs to be happening behind the scenes on our part; and that is seeking God in prayer.
People are all messed up and they need Christ's deliverance. They need a pure heart, a good conscience, and real faith. Wanting them to experience this goal (1:5) is what this exhortation to pray for others is all about. The context is that God wants us to be involved in helping people experience the real thing, and prayer fits fundamentally into this equation.
We can't do it on our own. Holding faith and a good conscious involves interacting with the Living God! That's what a personal relationship is all about! If we're not talking with God, we're not having a personal relationship. These aren't dead rules to blindly follow from some book. This points to a living relationship with God! Prayer isn't isolated from the goal as therefore is there fore to show us. Charging others and prayer are both part of God's desire for men to be saved. Verse 4 shows us that the goal is still the same with prayer.
It is true that verbally challenging people to hold to the truth is important. In fact it's a commandment of Almighty God. We can't throw away chapter 1. We have to speak to others. How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?…How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel! But even so, if we are not communicating with God than we are missing the first step. First of all. We need to understand this first. We shouldn't go on until we grasp this and are putting it to practice. This is Christianity 101. It needs to happen 1st, before we run our mouth.
Don't run off giving orders without talking to your superior officer first. Could you image that? Talk to the boss and get his approval/wisdom before you order around the other employees. How assumptive it would be to take that role without discussing it with the boss. Not many bosses would appreciate you taking over their job for them without asking. Taking leadership amongst your brothers and sisters can be good if you are constantly talking with Dad about how to do it best. But if not, then we become nothing more than a prideful loudmouth. We are to pray without ceasing. If we aren't in touch with God we have no business running our mouth. We should be obtaining wisdom about everything we say, do and think. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Cor. 10:5
This context captures the balance of speaking to others and praying for them. We shouldn't just pray for people, neither should we just share with them. We need to do both. We need to start with prayer. Yet, if we don't speak the truth, it shows that something is wrong with our prayers. They should co-exist, not exist as either or entities. People are not holding to the scriptures when they teach to "just pray for them." We see from this letter that this is a lie. The context of this letter agrees with the last command of Jesus to Go…and preach the gospel to every creature. Yet neither should we just run our mouth because we know something, or think we know something. Caring about them will manifest itself in prayer. Are we just running our mouth or do we really want God to help them? We can't help them on our own. Prayer has the amazing ability to help both them and us. We want God to help them.
We are to pray for all people. It is easy to go through these verses and think he is just talking about praying for the people in government. A lot of people only apply these verses to people in authority. But this verse says we need to pray for all men. Jesus Christ came to save everyone. No one is excluded from this passage. (We will deal with people in authority in verse 2.) Verse 1 is still true for what it says. Pray for all people.
Jesus Christ came to save sinners, and he has chosen for us to share the good news. He has called us to be involved in the warfare of upholding the truth. What a blessing it is to be granted a part to help bring eternal friends into heaven. He wants to share the reward with us. This call involves both speaking and praying. Prayer, in part, is finding out what we should speak. Prayer, in this context, is meeting with God to help others. It should never be used as an excuse to avoid speaking to others. This context includes confronting people; as Paul did in the verse immediately preceding this one with Hymenaeus and Alexander. How sad, cowardly and phony it is to use prayer as an excuse to not have to speak. Prayer, tragically, is often the deceitful cloak of the coward. God help us. We need wisdom from God to know what is the best way to help another person. We need God's help that every action, word and appearance we show another person can be a reflection of Jesus living in us. We want them to see Jesus when they see us.
Supplications: specific, seeing a need, proclaiming that need, begging for help. Here it's not for our individual needs, but for the needs of others. If one of our children is very sick, or if someone we love is rejecting the gospel, we feel an intense burden, concern. God wants to help us have that burden for the world, because He does. We should be begging for help for all men. It is for our needs in the sense that part of it is begging God to help us do what we can in the most effective way, as an extension of Him. Includes what we should say, how we should say it, what we should do, and what we are asking God to do for them. Part of supplications is seeking God about what we should be seeking Him about concerning others.
Prayers: more general, worshipful, being serious with God, wishing + towards. Often these first two words for prayer are used together. The first two words have some similarities, and they also each have somewhat of their own flavor.
(I don't want to over dissect this list as to say there is no overlap in the meanings of these four words. I'm not big on how people sometimes do that with lists in the bible. With gifts of the Spirit, for example, we ought to manifest more than one thing. In Ro 12, we should teach, exhort, and show mercy. Prophecy and mercy are complimentary, not contradictory. By adding more items to this list it adds emphasis and dynamics- more so than having less items would take away from what God is asking us to do.)
This word (prayer) seems to have more of an emphasis on reverencing God. We don't order Him around to get our demands. We need to fear Him- in a good way. He can and does help us, but as He sees fit, since He knows what's really best for us. We're asking for help, with an attitude of reverence. Sometimes we don't know what to specifically ask for. We don't know all the specifics to petition for, as needs are so vast and so dynamic. But what we do know is that we need God's help- period. And as we talk to Him, we stand back in awe, realizing that we are nothing. He is everything, and to be feared. We know we can't do any good without Him. Our fear is not a paralyzing fear. It's a good fear that loves Him and thinks that He is just awesome, and big and powerful. We don't want to mess up. It's like the fear of a table saw. It can help us accomplish a lot of work; but don't mess up or a few fingers will disappear.
Intercessions: the main idea is of freedom and confidence to approach God and confide in Him. It's having a two way meeting with God. We can have boldness to approach the throne, knowing that we will not be cast off. The all-powerful King of Kings wants to talk with us about everything that's going on in our lives; specifically here about what's going on in the lives of others. God wants to have a meeting with us concerning other people. This boldness doesn't take away from the aforementioned reverence. The two happen simultaneously. We fear Him in a good way, not a helpless way. And even though we are careful how we approach Him, yet we come, and come all the way to His presence. In Christ we have confidence that He wants to hear from us.
Thanksgivings: grateful acknowledgement of God's mercies. We acknowledge that God loves them and wants their best, and we are glad for that. Sometimes by sight it could appear to us that God should do such and such differently if He loved them. But His sight is so much greater than ours. Regardless of what it appears to us, as we pray for them, we should be assured He loves them and wants their best in the big picture, and for that we should truly be grateful.
Being thankful also means that we're glad for any part we can have in ministering the gospel to them. It doesn't matter to us how big or how small our role is outwardly. We should be just as glad to clean their toilet if that's what God wants. All that should matter is that we are pleasing God. We need this attitude to do our part effectively, to help people become saved.
If we are not thankful for that person, for God's mercies, and for anything we can do, then we can be assured that our attitude is wrong, and that our prayer is not in faith. Faith is being convinced that God wants to help both them and us. If we're not thankful, then we don't really believe He will help. Thankfulness is knowing that our prayers are heard, and that He is working mightily behind the scenes to help. It's being thankful for all the people He has placed around us, including our enemies. That's faith, and that's what we need to please God. God help us.
If we're not thankful, we will miss a lot of opportunities- boatloads of opportunities- to help others. I miss tons of opportunities because I don't excitedly ask for them and want to offer myself a sacrifice.
We're seeing needs and being burdened, begging for help; while keeping reverence, the fear of God in perspective; realizing though that we can indeed come to the throne (through Christ) and have a real time of openness with God; and being thankful because we know that God wants their best, and we're glad for whatever part He has for us to play in that. It all fits together into the marvelous, dynamic time of communicating our heart and soul to God. This is pouring our guts out, because He cares, and He will do something about it. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. That is what this is talking about. I don't believe we can claim people's salvation (except I'm open to specific revelation for a specific situation as in Acts 16), but we are to play a part in the gospel going forth mightily. This is a big part of the puzzle for us to be used to reach people with the gospel! It will make a difference!
As each of us strives to fill the role of an evangelist, to reach the world for Christ, we need to be begging for wisdom; because we just don't have it to give on our own. If we think we can change the world by ourselves (without God working it all out behind the scenes), we are out of touch with reality. We need to seek God with prayers and intercessions so we can have it to give. We need to have a serious meeting with God. We should be thankful for everyone we have the chance to affect.
We should be getting wisdom, for example, why someone is in our thoughts. We need to find out whether or not God wants us to pray for them at that time. If the Spirit is prompting us to pray for them, then we need to find out what God wants us to ask. Maybe God wants us to talk to them about something, or give them a word of encouragement. When we meet someone, we should be finding out if we are supposed to share with them. We should be asking God questions like "what would you like me to say? How can I help?" Being thankful and praying also produces an attitude in us that will help others to be saved. More on that in verse 2.
One prayer we know God wants us to pray is found in Luke 10:2: Therefore said [Jesus] unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. When we pray according to His will, we also know that we have what we ask. Jesus grants them the answer to their prayer in the next verse. Go, which is followed by the specifics. Don't get me wrong, we need the specifics. But we already know He wants to use us to help reach the world.
This list covers the waterfront. No matter how you slice it, He wants us to pray. We can't say we didn't know prayer was important. If I were to say, "Let's go, it's time to leave, don't stay any longer, let's walk out the door," I would be redundantly clear. Saying four similar words together put a strong sense of importance and urgency to it. Your spouse would be thinking "what's the big deal, is there some sort of emergency?" Yes, it is that big of a deal. God is merely putting the proper emphasis on it.
On top of this, we are being exhorted, beseeched to pray for others. It's strong language when someone beseeches us to do something, and then makes sure we understand every angle of what they are asking us to do. I don't hardly know how to make the above mentioned example any stronger except to say "I beseech you, Let us go, it's time to leave, don't stay any longer, let's walk out the door." About the only way I could make that stronger is to add in that you need to understand this before you do anything else. And this is exactly what God is doing. This is something important to God. He wants us to pray without ceasing. Oh Lord, please help me grab onto the importance of this in my day to day thoughts.
It's easy to back off of from consistent, ceaseless prayer. It's something only God sees. Jesus talked about how it's easy to pray in public when everyone is watching compared to being alone when no one knows. We take care of our physical appearance because we know people will see that. But we may not do as good of a job on our prayer life, because only God sees that. That's a sad reality of a messed up perspective. I need to do better. My prayer life is sporadic. I have embarrassingly long periods in my day to day activities where I don't pray much. If the engine in my car only ran as much as I prayed, I'd rebuild my motor. On a good day I suppose I could eventually make it to town, but on a bad day I'd be stranded on the side of the road. I'm glad God is merciful.