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Prayer and Character
The book of 1st Timothy is rich and multi-layered, but the verses that really speak to me at the moment are tied to prayer and character. In 1 Timothy 2:2, Paul encourages Timothy to pray for kings and all those in authority in order to live a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and holiness. To be honest, I don’t pray for those in authority very often. Judging from casual conversations and Facebook posts, I’m not sure that many of my friends have spent a lot of time praying for President Obama and others in authority, either. But Paul doesn’t say pray for kings if you agree with them or if they belong to your political party or if you think they’re good leaders – he just says to pray for those in authority. 1 Timothy 2:2 is a vivid reminder that the leaders of my country, state, city, church, and place of employment all need my prayers to deal with problems that I’m not even aware of.
Paul also uses much of this letter to talk about character; for example, he encourages Timothy to train himself to be godly (4:7), to set an example in speech, life, love, faith, and purity (4:12), and to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness (6:11). Paul’s words make it pretty clear that character is not something that just happens, but something that we have to “pursue.”
Finally, 1 Timothy 6:18 (where Paul talks about how the rich should do good, be rich in good deeds, be generous and willing to share) seems aimed directly at me. If you look at the entire population of the world, I’m pretty sure I’m one of the rich people. Generosity does not come naturally to me, which means that I have to plan to share, because otherwise it’s not just going to happen.
Ultimately, for me, living out all of these verses boils down to being intentional: intentional about praying for leaders, intentional about pursuing godliness on a daily basis, intentional about showing love in times of conflict, and intentional about sharing my physical possessions with those in need.
Written By LeeAnn Paris
Faculty Member, Oklahoma Christian University
The book of 1st Timothy is rich and multi-layered, but the verses that really speak to me at the moment are tied to prayer and character. In 1 Timothy 2:2, Paul encourages Timothy to pray for kings and all those in authority in order to live a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and holiness. To be honest, I don’t pray for those in authority very often. Judging from casual conversations and Facebook posts, I’m not sure that many of my friends have spent a lot of time praying for President Obama and others in authority, either. But Paul doesn’t say pray for kings if you agree with them or if they belong to your political party or if you think they’re good leaders – he just says to pray for those in authority. 1 Timothy 2:2 is a vivid reminder that the leaders of my country, state, city, church, and place of employment all need my prayers to deal with problems that I’m not even aware of.
Paul also uses much of this letter to talk about character; for example, he encourages Timothy to train himself to be godly (4:7), to set an example in speech, life, love, faith, and purity (4:12), and to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness (6:11). Paul’s words make it pretty clear that character is not something that just happens, but something that we have to “pursue.”
Finally, 1 Timothy 6:18 (where Paul talks about how the rich should do good, be rich in good deeds, be generous and willing to share) seems aimed directly at me. If you look at the entire population of the world, I’m pretty sure I’m one of the rich people. Generosity does not come naturally to me, which means that I have to plan to share, because otherwise it’s not just going to happen.
Ultimately, for me, living out all of these verses boils down to being intentional: intentional about praying for leaders, intentional about pursuing godliness on a daily basis, intentional about showing love in times of conflict, and intentional about sharing my physical possessions with those in need.
Written By LeeAnn Paris
Faculty Member, Oklahoma Christian University
About this Plan
We invite you to join us in reading through the New Testament. If you dedicate about 25 minutes to this plan every day, you will have completed the entire New Testament in 60 days! May the Lord bless you as you become "Daily Versed" and experience the Lord through His word.
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We would like to thank Oklahoma Christian University for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: http://www.oc.edu/youversion
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