Today’s Thoughts – 18 October 2020
By T. S. Candee on October 18, 2020 in First Timothy Thoughts
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
Pray everywhere
We are commanded here to pray. Not just once a day or during mealtime. Rather, we are to pray everywhere. Prayer is how we are molded into what God wants us to be. Prayer is how we talk to God and have communion with Him. Prayer changes things. We must be in an attitude of prayer.
Here specifically, Paul is talking to the men in the church and how they are to pray publically in the church. Prayer in the church is becoming more of an afterthought or a routine. Instead, it should be first and foremost. It should be done believing that God is going to do something great in your church on that day.
If the men do not pray, the local church will not have dedicated leaders to oversee its ministry.
Holy hands
There are some who take this verse literally and hold their hands out during prayer. This is a common practice and there is nothing wrong with a physical display of holding one’s hands out during prayer. The key though is the holiness of the heart of the one holding out their hands. If the heart is not holy, the hands should not be held out.
I take this part of the verse more symbolically in that when we pray, we are to hold the hands of our hearts out and let God take control. We must be right with God if we are to see the effect of our prayer. It’s not the physical posture that matters, it’s the posture of the heart.
If we have sin in our lives, we cannot pray and expect God to answer.
Doubting
This word refers to disputings among people. The previous words also mention without wrath. These both point to the relationship that we have with those around us. If we are at odds with our brothers or sisters in Christ, our prayer will have no effect.
We must not only be right with God (holy heart hands), but we too must be right with our fellow believers to have effective prayer in the church. There are times that we may disagree with our siblings in Christ. We must learn to disagree without being disagreeable – without being angry or disputing with one another.
Effective praying, then, demands that I be in a right relationship with God and with my fellow believers.
