A Call to Prayer

(1 Timothy 2:8 – A call to prayer)

This is an interesting scripture and I have pondered and prayed over it for some time before writing this post today.

It is a call to people everywhere and there are nuances to these words, at least there are to me, concerning the attitudes and behaviours of the people of God. It is a call to prayer, but there is more to it than just that alone.

Let us consider the depth of these words and examine what can be learned from these things.

A call to prayer

Before continuing let us look at the words in this verse.

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling” (1 Timothy 2:8)

The first thing we see in these words is a call to prayer, specifically for men to come together to pray. Often, though not always, today it seems that it is women who do more praying than men. But this is specifically a call to men to pray.

Men have a habit of being proud and arrogant, thinking they have things under control. They see themselves as problem solvers and seek to fix things that they see to be wrong.

But any fix a man seeks to put in place may not always be the best possible fix.

This is especially true when they are led by pride and arrogance, thinking they know best.

But when we look at the great men of the Bible we see a different approach. We see them also seeking to find solutions to their specific problems, but not through their own power, knowledge, or reason. Instead they sought the Lord to provide the direction, guidance, insights, and wisdom to see them through the situations they found themselves in.

Consider how the situation of Daniel in the lions den would have unfolded if Daniel forsook God and tried to resolve the issue by his own power or strength. I shudder to say that he would probably have ended up as the main course of a bunch of hungry lions.

And what about Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego at the mouth of the fiery furnace? Again, they would have been burned to ash had they tried to solve their situations in their own strength and without calling upon the Lord to save and protect them.

In every case where righteous men and women of old prevailed, it was through a call to prayer to seek the strength of God to overcome.

And today we need to do likewise. Men of God, hear the call to prayer of the Lord and answer His call by putting all aspects of your life before God. Come to Him in humility not seeking your own good or pleasure, but seek His will and care for His people.

Lifting Holy hands without anger or quarreling

When we come to the Lord to seek Him, we need to lift holy hands, as the scripture says.

Holy hands are different to hands raised in anger or quarreling.

A hand raised in anger or quarreling is raised to lash out or to strike down. It is not a hand of peace that helps a neighbour, but is a hand of spite, wrath, and a destroying hand that seeks to wreak havoc rather than conciliate.

A hand raised in anger and quarreling is not one raised in the name of the Lord and it will not prevail against the people of God.

Consider Pharaoh who raised his hands in anger against the departing Israelites as they fled from Egypt. In his anger Pharaoh sought to bring Israel back under the captivity and slavery of the Egyptians.

But the Israelite leaders, specifically Moses and Aaron raised holy hands in prayer and supplication to God for the deliverance of the people. God spoke to Moses at the Red Sea telling him to raise his arm and staff over the sea, and God parted the sea providing the escape.

This salvation of the Israelites did not come by the raising of hands of anger and quarreling, but by the raising of holy hands under the insight and direction of God. They were saved through the raising of holy hands, and the principle remains the same to this day.

Salvation comes by the raising of holy hands, humbly seeking the wisdom of God and His salvation through Jesus Christ. And when we lift holy hands in a call to prayer, we find the answers to our issues and a return to peace.

What the future holds, a call to prayer needed

Today, more than ever we will be tested. The trials and tribulations coming upon this world will be felt by all, Christians and non-Christians. Everyone will see and suffer under the tribulations that are to come, as prophesied by the Lord in the lead up to the second coming.

We are told in scripture that this will be a time of endurance for the saints, and if we are to endure we need to get close to the Lord for His enduring power to rest upon us.

How will that happen? By the enduring power of a call to prayer to seek the right paths we are to follow.

The devil is in his last throes and he knows his time is short and almost at an end. He is unleashing evil and destruction upon this world in ways that have never been seen before. His desire is the destruction of all flesh, but especially those who follow Christ Jesus.

That is why a call to prayer is so necessary today. And it is a call to prayer based upon the lifting of holy hands, not hands that are angry, quarrelsome, or seeking revenge against the evil excesses of this world.

There is a war being fought in the spiritual realm and it requires the application of weapons that are spiritual. One of the “big guns” in this war is the spiritual weapon of prayer. When we pray we draw near to God, and when we draw near to God the devil flees.

So these days are the time for a call to prayer as has never been seen before. These days are going to be hard and difficult and fraught with danger for the people of God. If we are to weather the storms of these times, then a call to prayer is essential to keep us close to the Lord and in the protection of Jesus Christ and the Father.

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