Praying Wider

Too often when I pray, my default mode is to stay on the surface of things, like my circumstances. And when it comes to the scope of prayer, I tend to stay too close to home. Yet, throughout the NT, we are invited to pray deeper and wider. For now, let’s consider the breadth of our prayers.

Listen to Paul’s words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1-6:

1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a 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 as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.

Did you notice Paul’s repeated mention of “all” or “everyone?” Can you understand his point? The believers in (and around) Ephesus weren’t neglecting prayer. But their praying had turned inward. They had stopped praying widely for the salvation of people throughout the world. God bless us four-no more. Amen. (Ok. Maybe not so crassly, but you get the point!) And so Paul urges them (and us) to pray for everyone….” God isn’t interested in saving just Americans or Ukrainians or any particular national group for that matter. He wants all kinds of people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. He sent His Son to be a ransom for all kinds of people. And if that isn’t enough, he uses four different words for prayer. His point here isn’t to promote a four step prayer program. It is to emphasize praying for the promotion of the Gospel to all the nations of the earth (Gen. 12:3).

If a visitor from outer space was eavesdropping on your conversations with other members in the Gathering Space, if he could listen to what you pray for in your ABF or your Small group, would he walk away concluding that you worship a God who has promised to bless all the nations of the earth? Or would he conclude that you worship a national god—or worse yet, a village god who is only concerned about issues within a five mile radius of your neighborhood?

The fact that Paul places this discussion in the section of 1 Timothy that discusses the responsibilities of the gathered church challenges us to get out of our narrow prayer “ruts” and back on the highway of God’s mission to fill the earth with His glory by saving sinners from every tribe and nation and turning them into a united choir that will forever sing his praises (Rev. 5:9-10).



And why is that important? Because the God who sovereignly planned to do all this before he created the world also ordained that prayer would be a vital means to that end (Look again at verses 1-4).

Tonight from 7:00 – 8:00 pm we are having a church wide time of prayer for our missionaries, specifically our national partners in Africa and South Asia. You will be incredibly encouraged by the stories you’ll hear of what God is doing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and India. At the same time, you will be challenged by the increasing (and potentially life-threatening) hostilities that some are facing. Come and join us. We are not all sent to be missionaries, but we are all called to be part of God’s mission.



Jerry Benge,

Missions Pastor