Paul begins his first pastoral letter to Timothy with the greeting, a charge against erroneous doctrine and idle divisive talk, his own testimony of God showing him mercy and grace and putting him in the ministry, his resulting praise (doxology) to the King. and finally a charge to wage the good warfare.
Based on this introduction, therefore, he calls for prayer. This is the start, the first step in this spiritual warfare, the fight for the souls of men. Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men . . . (I Timothy 2:1)
In meditating on this principle of “pray first”, I began to think of how this plays out throughout Scripture, throughout history, and throughout our individual lives. Here are several examples from Scripture. As you consider this truth, I am sure you can find many more.
1. Nehemiah 1 – In verses 1-3, Nehemiah gets a terrible report of the distressing conditions of the survivors in Jerusalem. His first response was not anger or bitterness or making a plan to get even or to somehow fix the problem. He sat down and wept and mourned and fasted and prayed. This beautiful prayer goes from verse 5 to 11, the end of the chapter. This was his first response, and in this prayer, he began by praising God for who He is! This “pray first” response is repeated in chapter 2:4-5 after the king finds out about this tragic situation. Here is the interaction: Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. and I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Yes, again he prayed first.
2. Remember what Jesus did before He chose His twelve disciples (apostles)?Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: (Luke 6:12-13) And we all know what He did before He went to the cross. Yes, in the garden of Gethsemane, He poured out His soul in prayer to His Father, sweating great drops of blood. He accepted the will of His Father. (Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22;39-46) If Jesus needed to pray first, do you think it is OK for us to skip this step and get on with the work? Certainly not!
3. It is noteworthy that the apostles had a priority that was not to be delayed by doing something as important as ministering to the needs of the widows (which is pure religion, as we see in James). No. Here was their response, after they instructed that this be delegated: “but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4) Prayer came first, even before the ministry of the word!
Thankfully, our Lord lovingly and firmly helps us to understand the importance of praying first. He lets us forget Him and experience the painful consequences of not beginning with prayer. This is what happened to Joshua when he figured that he really didn’t need to consult with God before attacking such a small city as Ai, especially since he had a “great” recommendation from the spies that had already checked out that city. May God help us to increase more and more in understanding our total dependance on Him and thus, our need to go to Him first in prayer, for both big and small endeavors.
Here is a wonderful example of how this was followed 235 years ago at the beginning of our country:
George Washington’s 1789 Inauguration
On April 30, 1789, the very first United States Presidential Inauguration occurred. This event was significant for the precedents established and the role religion held throughout.Newspapers outlined the first event of the Inauguration Day activities in New York City (which was then serving as the nation’s capital): “On the morning of the day on which our illustrious President will be invested with his office, the bells will ring at nine o’clock, when the people may go up to the house of God and in a solemn manner commit the new government, with its important train of consequences, to the holy protection and blessing of the Most High.”
George Washington, John Adams, members of Congress, and other officials made their way to Federal Hall where a large crowd awaited Washington to take his oath of office. A witness recounted the feelings of that crowd: “The circumstances of his election—the impression of his past services—the concourse of spectators—the devout fervency with which he repeated the oath—and the reverential manner in which he bowed down and kissed the sacred volume—all these conspired to render it one of the most august and interesting spectacles ever exhibited on this globe. It seemed…to be a solemn appeal to Heaven and earth at once.”
Next was Washington’s Inaugural Address to both houses of Congress in the Senate Chamber. In this address, he noted: “It would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being Who rules over the universe, Who presides in the councils of nations, and Whose providential aids can supply every human defect—that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes.”
After Washington’s address, the officials attended church services at St. Paul’s Chapel and adjourned for the day.
