Scripture: Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. 1 Timothy 2:1
Observation: In his teaching of Timothy, Paul states that first of all, everyone should be prayed for. This includes 'kings' - civic leaders - but also simply includes all people, as the Lord wishes for everyone to ultimately be saved by faith in Jesus.
And this, then, is the subject of the general prayers for all people ... their faith. Paul states that God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (v4). Furthermore, Paul clarifies that this endeavor is the true mission of himself and every preacher and apostle ... to lead others to an understanding of Jesus Christ as their mediator before God. It is this prayer - that others would know Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior - that is the prayer that matters for all people.
Application: Never again should I wonder if I should pray for others (strangers, coworkers, random individuals, friends), nor should I wonder what to pray for them (health, wisdom in a matter, assistance in life, relief from a challenge). Paul makes the instruction simple for all of us, myself included ... pray for everyone that they should discover Jesus. We can add to that any sort of intercessory prayer we may like for specific matters as known, which would apply to those people we know well enough to know their needs, but for everyone we know of their one true need ... a right relationship with, and faith in, Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Lord, today I bring others to you, from my coworkers, to people I passed on the freeway. The odds are most do not know you. May you be in their lives today, making yourself known to them by both the words of those around them and events in their day-to-day activities, so that they might discover 'the truth'. Amen.
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