.
• 1Tim 2:1-2a . . I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers,
intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those
in authority,
Before everybody goes running off to save the world we need to look at
something in the Bible that preceded Paul's writings.
• John 14:12-14 . .You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it,
because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father. Yes, ask anything in
my name, and I will do it.
If and when Christians are obtaining poor results from praying according to
that passage in John, then I think it goes without saying that they will also
obtain poor results from praying according to the passage in 1Timothy.
NOTE: Jesus doesn't practice the average Christian's understanding of 1Tim
2:1-2a. His prayers are quite a bit more discriminating; i.e. Christ prays only
for his own rather than for just any and all souls who happen to be human.
• John 17:8-10 . . I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted
them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed
that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for
those you have given me, for they are yours.
I seriously doubt that 1Tim 2:1-2a intends for Christians to pray
indiscriminately, i.e. for every Tom, Freddy, and Harriet on earth regardless
of their character and/or their spiritual condition. I believe 1Tim 2:1-2a
should be applied intelligently rather than mindlessly because intercession
for the wrong kinds of folk is like cuddling up to jackals and warthogs.
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before
swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to
pieces." (Matt 7:6)
An excellent application of 1Tim 2:1-4 is to pray that God thwart the
ambitions of any and all evil people in positions to do things that make it
difficult, if not impossible, for Christians to teach the Bible and practice its
principles.
• 1Tim 2:2b-4 . . 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.
So; when it comes to people like Kim Jong-Un, Robert Mugabee, Xi Jinping,
Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gadaffi, Ali Khamenei, Bashar al-Assad, and
certain elements of American government, etc, it's best to express your fear
of those kinds of people rather than intercede for them-- following a certain
passage in Ecclesiastes which says: There's a time for seeking and a time for
losing. In other words: A time to search and a time to give it up for lost.
Pop Clock Update: 3,344 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the
figures in post No.1 are within reason, then something like 184,241,024 new
arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Apr 12, 2012.
NOTE: During the nine years that this thread has been running, the global
population has increased from 7,006,673,612 to 7,768,049,858. That's an
increase of approximately 761.4 million people, i.e. nearly two and a third
times the current US population.
_