Monday, July 25, 2005
1 Timothy 2:1-5 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men . . .
LIFE IS SHORT, PRAY HARD
In the late 80's, when the Reebok shoe company was trying to carve out a place for itself among giants in the industry like Nike and Adidas, it came up with a simple but catchy slogan: Life is short, play hard.
As often happens, a Christian T-Shirt company took the slogan and gave it a spiritual twist. I remember because my brother and sister had one of those t-shirts. It looked like a Reebok shirt, except it said: Life is short, PRAY hard.
It's good advice. God here encourages Christians to pray hard for all men, especially for kings and those given authority by Him so that we may, under their godly rules, live peaceful and quiet lives. There is yet another reason we are encouraged to pray -- simply because it pleases God! Like an earthly father waits to hear his children's request and gladly answers, so does God wait for our prayers to answer them according to His will.
However, Christians ought to pray above all because their prayers are HEARD by the one God, through the One Mediator Jesus Christ. We should pray for all men, for despite the fact that millions pray day after day -- the vast majority pray to figments of their imagination, to idols, and NOT to the True God. Millions pray, yet their sins separate them from God so that He does not hear -- they have no audience with God (cf. Isaiah 59:2). Pray Hard Christians on behalf of all men because your prayers do come before the very king of the universe through Jesus Christ your mediator. You have an audience with the KING of KINGS! Life is short, pray hard.
