The First Resort

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” (1Tim 2:1).

You’ve heard it before. “All we can do now is pray.” Heard it before? Shoot, we’ve all said it before! You’re familiar with the situation. Things are dark and desperate. We’ve exhausted all other options. We’ve knocked on every door. We’ve tried everything else. We’ve done everything humanly possible but nothing has changed. At this point, we turn to God and plead for Him to come to the rescue. We pray as a last resort.

But Paul reminds Timothy that prayer should be at the top of our to-do list when life goes spinning out of control. ESPECIALLY when it does. The apostle writes to the Ephesian pastor, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” (v1). Before you do anything else, pray. Cry out to God. First and foremost. Use every kind of prayer you can think of on behalf of every person you can come up with. Pray as a first resort.

Had the Ephesian church stopped praying? Sure seems to be the case. At the very least, their prayer life was on life support. John MacArthur has a sneaking suspicion that was the fallout of the counterfeit gospel being sold by the false teachers (1Tim 1:3-7). According to their not-so-good news, we’re responsible for our own salvation. When that’s the case, we focus on ourselves and stop praying for everyone else. With Paul on divine assignment somewhere in Macedonia, he tells Tim to get believers’ knees on the floor and their eyes off themselves.

Are sure sign of trouble in your relationship with God is a nonexistent prayer life. Or maybe you pray, but it’s kinda “meh.” It’s just something you’re supposed to do. Like flossing. I write because I know. For whatever reason, I don’t pray like I know I should. For heaven’s sake, Jesus has granted me the incredible privilege of speaking directly with the Creator of the universe. Almighty God will make all the time for me at any time. What’s my response? A little prayer here. Another over there. Pray first? Some days, I’m lucky to pray at all. Like I said, I write because I know. Let’s just say the Ephesian megachurch isn’t the only one with a mega-problem with prayer. 

Paul then gives us a a pretty awesome inventory of the different types of prayer available to us. “Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings” (v1). Whatever your prayer need, there’s a kind of prayer ready for you to use. Specialized tools for every kind of situation. Pretty cool, huh? Talking to God isn’t like trying to get in touch with a customer service rep for the cable company. If my call really is important to them, why am I do I have to wait 47 minutes to speak with somebody who won’t really help me in the first place? Prayer is NOTHING like that. When I pray, there’s not “press 1 for supplication, press 2 for prayer, press 3 for intercession, and 4 for thanksgiving.” You just pray. All flavors are readily available. All kinds are happily received.

So let’s take a quick look at our prayer options. First of all, there are “supplications” (v1). This Greek word (Gr de’esis) describes a plea, a request, or something asked with urgency base on a need. It comes from a term that means to lack, be deprived, or be without. We’re to ask God to meet the obvious needs in the lives of others. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we can make a beeline “to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). God has the vast resources and is more than ready to meet “every need of yours” (Phil 4:19). When we see a need, let’s ask Jesus to meet that need. By the way, often times He uses you and me to do it!

The next tools in the prayer tool box are, not surprisingly, “prayers” (v1). The meaning of the term (Gr. proseuche) in the original language is…drum roll, please…prayer. It’s calling on God to help. In other words, talk to the Lord about the people in your life. Remember, He already knows all about them. Tell Him how much you care for them. Tell Him how much you struggle with them. Tell Him that you love them. Tell Him that you don’t. Whatever you do, pray for them. Join them in their prayers. Ask Jesus to show up in a big way in their lives. Ask Him to absolutely bless their socks off. 

Paul encourages us to make “intercessions” (v1) for folks. The idea here is actually a one-one-on meeting with a person. It’s an intimate conversation with someone in authority on behalf of another. You’ve done this before from a friend or family member. You make a quick phone call to get them some help. The apostle urges us to do the same thing but to go a little higher up the org chart. Tell God. Talk to the One who really can make a difference. Hey, you’re just doing what some other really powerful people are doing for you. Jesus is personally interceding for you with His Dad at this very moment (Rom 8:26). As a matter of fact, it’s a huge part of His mission in life (Heb 7:25).

And don’t forget to tell God just how cool it is that He’s placed these people in your life. Make sure to offer “thanksgivings” (v1) for them. What a great reminder that we’re not flying solo as we follow Jesus. The Lord surrounds us with others for a reason. We need each other. He continually uses the people in our lives to bless us, guide us, encourage us, and correct us. Remember, it’s a two-way street. They need God to use you just as much as you need them. Paul gently taps us on the shoulder to thank our Savior for others. King David even saw God using his worst enemies and biggest critics (2Sam 17:11-12). Thank Jesus for the people who surround you. Even your enemies.

How are we to use all these kinds of prayers? There must be some sort of special list of people we’re supposed to pray for. The apostle encourages us that these prayers are to “be made for all people” (v1). As someone once said, “All means ‘all’ and that’s all ‘all’ means.” Jesus doesn’t have a “no pray” list. Take a look around. Who do you see? Who do you not see? Now, pray for all of them. Every. Single. One. We’re not to limit who we pray for or about. “All people” (v1). In other words, use every kind of prayer for every kind of person. That’s what happens when the Gospel gets ahold of us. Slowly and steadily, we take on a “Me Third” attitude. God first. Others second. Me third. As a result, go to God first about the other people in your life. And here’s a little secret. Our prayers for others doesn’t so much change God’s mind about someone. He already loves them. It softens my heart for them. 

So when it comes to prayer, don’t wait until your back is against the wall. Don’t get me wrong. Pray when your between a rock and a hard place. God certainly does some of His best work just before the clock runs out. But pray early. Pray often. Pray for others. Use every club in your bag. Supplication. Prayer. Intercession. Thanksgiving. I love how the Message puts it. “The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know” (v1 The Message). Every way you know how. For everyone you know. Pray as the first resort.