Men Must Stay Focused in Prayer

 

Men Must Stay Focused in Prayer

Spiritual Leadership in the Church Series

1 Tim 2:8

THEME: the church is to conduct its services with order.

RELEVANCE: Devoted men offering church or public (mix congregation) prayer during the services is part of God's order. Approaching Almighty God on behalf of a church is a serious undertaking where a godly man represents an entire assembly. An orderly, reverent, wise, thankful, powerful, honest, and devoted man should approach God on behalf of others. We are NOT calling for perfection, but extreme seriousness should mark occasions of conversation with the Holy Most High!

INTRODUCTION:

Both men and women prayed in the early churches' various meetings (1 Cor. 11:4–5), but the emphasis here is on the men in the congregation. What attitude or disposition should characterize men who engage in public prayer?

MESSAGE:

Our Attitude As We Pray to God (1 Tim. 2:8).

A holy, orderly, reverent, thankful, powerful, and devoted man should approach God on behalf of the church. This is not the time to be routine, relaxed or cool, guessing, respectful of loud people, boring, or merely ceremonial! 

1. Paul Stated Definitely That “Men” Should Pray In The Local Assembly.

a. This Requirement Respects God's Order in the Church.

·       The Subject Of Public Prayer Is Now Resumed, And This Time Our Attention Is Directed To Those Who Should Lead The People Of God In Prayer.

o   Paul’s expressed desire was that the men pray.

o   The word men does not mean mankind in general, but men in contrast to women.  The apostle’s instruction is that public prayer should be led by the men rather than by the women. And it means all the men, not just the pastors. 

·       Undoubtedly Paul Wanted All Christians To Offer Up Prayers For A Widespread Spiritual Awakening Among The Populations And Their Rulers. Yet in the public assembly Paul specified that men (“males”) everywhere are to lead the congregation in prayer.

·       The Expression Everywhere May Be Taken To Mean That Wherever A Mixed Group Of Christians Is Gathered Together For Public Prayer.  In the public service, it is the men and not the women who should lead in this exercise.

b. It is common to find women’s prayer meetings, but not often do we find men’s prayer meetings. If the men do not pray, the local church will not have dedicated leaders to oversee its ministry.

2. It Was Customary For Jewish Men To Pray With Their Arms Extended And Their Hands Open To Heaven. 

a. “Lifting up holy hands.” This Was A Custom Practiced In The Early Church.

o   It revealed the dedication in the lives of those praying.

o   This was a common Old Testament practice (1 Kings 8:22; 2 Chron. 6:13; Ezra 9:5; Pss. 28:2; 141:2; Lam. 2:19).

o   Paintings on the walls of the catacombs in Rome portray this posture.

o   Now there are those who lift up their hands in services today, and they are sometimes criticized for it. There is nothing wrong with lifting up your hands in prayer if it is something you feel you want to do.

o   Our traditional posture of bowing the head, folding the hands, and closing the eyes is nowhere found or commanded in Scripture.

b. Actually, There Are Many Prayer Postures Found In The Bible: standing with outstretched hands (1 Kings 8:22); kneeling (Dan. 6:10); standing (Luke 18:11); sitting (2 Sam. 7:18); bowing the head (Gen. 24:26); lifting the eyes (John 17:1); falling on the ground (Gen. 17:3). 

c. The Important Thing Is Not The Posture Of The Body But The Posture Of The Heart.

3. Paul Stated Three Essentials For Effective Prayer.

a. The First Was “Holy Hands.”

o   Obviously this means a holy life.

o   “Clean hands” was symbolic of a blameless life (2 Sam. 22:21; Ps. 24:4). If we have sin in our lives, we cannot pray and expect God to answer (Ps. 66:18).

o   The hands were to be holy (“devout, undefiled”), signifying an internal cleanness on the part of these spiritual leaders.

o   The emphasis here is not so much on the physical posture of the one praying as on his inward life. His hands should be holy hands. The hands here are figurative of the man’s entire manner of life.

o   Personally, I have always hesitated to do it because I’m not too sure about my hands, whether they are clean or not, clean physically or otherwise. But it means that they are hands dedicated to God’s service. My friend, you ought not to poke up your hands in a meeting if those hands are not used for the service of Christ.

b. Secondly, he should be without wrath.

o   “Without wrath” is the second essential, and requires that we be on good terms with one another.

o   “Without anger” might be what is required. Such prayer leaders must be men of sound relationships, not characterized by anger (“outbursts of temper”).

o   A person who is constantly having trouble with other believers, who is a troublemaker rather than a peacemaker, cannot pray and get answers from God.

o   Broken human relationships affect one’s ability to pray (Matt. 5:22-24; 6:12; 1 Peter 3:7), which would include leading others in prayer.

o   “Without wrath”—all sins have been confessed. You don’t come in prayer with anger in your heart, or a bitter spirit, but with all your sins confessed.

o   This points out the inconsistency of one who is given to displays of temper, rising in the local church to speak to God in behalf of those assembled.

o   When we have anger in the heart, we often have open disagreements with others. Christians should learn to disagree without being disagreeable. We should “do all things without murmurings and disputings” (Phil. 2:14).

c. Thirdly prayer should be without “Doubting.”

o   “Without … doubting.” In Hebrews 11:6 we read: “But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

o   When we come to God in prayer, we are to come in faith. One of the reasons I feel that our prayer meetings are not better attended today is that people lack faith. They do not believe that God is going to hear and answer prayer.

o   I do not mean to be irreverent, but I sometimes think that the Lord must yawn during our prayer meetings because they are so boresome. Prayer should be made in our public services by those who have their sins confessed, who come without bitterness in their hearts, and who come in faith, believing that God will hear and answer. It is this kind of prayer that will make a prayer meeting what it ought to be.

o   We should have faith in the ability and willingness of God to hear and answer prayer.

4. Effective Praying Demands These Prerequisites.

Specifically that I be in a right relationship with God (“holy hands”) and with my fellow believers (“without murmurings and disputings”).

a. Jesus taught the same truth (Mark 11:24–26). 

b. If we spent more time preparing to pray and getting our hearts right before God, our prayers would be more effective. 

c. We can summarize these qualifications by saying that a man should exhibit holiness and purity selfward, love and peace manward, and unquestioning faith Godward.

 CONCLUSION: Beloved, we desperately need devoted men offering church or public (mix congregation) prayer during the services as part of God's order. We must have men who view approaching Almighty God as a serious matter where a godly man represents an entire assembly. He must be equipped with an orderly, reverent, wise, thankful, powerful, honest, and devoted attitude as he enters the very presence of God in Jesus' Name. Jesus modeled godly behavior and attitudes as He prayed! Again, the goal is NOT perfection, but extreme seriousness and transparency should mark occasions of conversation with the Holy Most High!