Be Still And Know

1 Timothy 2:1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf and give thanks for them. A recent ComRes opinion poll revealed that twice as many people in the 18-34 age group prayed compared with those aged over 55. But regardless of age, the question is: what do we do when we pray? Here in our verse today, Paul encourages Timothy to have the right focus in his praying. Our natural condition is to be self-centred, so it is very easy for us to see prayer in an entirely selfish way. We pray for ourselves, our happiness, our health, our family, our future and so on. All of those things are perfectly proper subjects for prayer, but if they become the exclusive focus of our prayers, something has gone seriously wrong. Paul reminded Timothy that the priority of his life needed to be to pray for others, particularly those in authority. This was especially challenging at the time, because many of the rulers were violently opposed to Christians. However, Paul tells