Men Should Pray Lifting Holy Hands
1 Timothy 2:8
I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;
Prayer is an integral part of the Christian life and an important component of discipleship. Men should pray lifting holy hands!
Biblical Truths About Prayer
A. Prayer is personal communication with God.
God made us and has redeemed us for fellowship with Himself and prayer is our means of communicating to Him. Prayer is our way of personally relating and connecting to Him.
B. Prayer develops our intimate personal relationship with God.
While God is pleased as a loving Father to give us many of the things we ask Him for, His real purpose in granting us the privilege of prayer is to build the Father/child relationship with Him. More than just giving and receiving; it is building an intimate relationship with Him. Prayer is a necessary means to developing our relationship with God. The more we talk and listen to God, our intimacy will deepen.
C. Prayer shows our dependence upon God.
In prayer we recognize who we are and who God is. We see our helplessness, limitations and failures in the light of who God is and what He can do in our lives and in the lives of others. When we pray to God, it shows our dependence upon Him for everything we need as His children. Believers pray and humbly acknowledge their need and express themselves as trustfully depending on God to meet it.
D. Pray in faith.
Faith is essential to our Christian walk and especially in prayers. Faith is being sure of what we hope for, especially in terms of what we ask for in prayer. Faith is belief in the abilities, wisdom, goodness of God and that He is more than able and willing to answer our requests. God can do amazing things in response to prayer offered in faith to Him. Our “prayer of faith” fundamentally expresses trust in the God who is all-loving and generous, but who is also all-wise and sovereign.
E. Pray according to God’s will.
God’s will is always for our best. He will always work out for the accomplishment of His will and purposes. As believers, our main goal is to seek His will and purposes in our lives, and those that concern His work and kingdom. We must remember that God, who knows what is best in a way that we do not, may deny our specific requests as to how the needs should be met. When we say that God’s will be done, we are surrendering our own expressed preference to the Father’s wisdom as Jesus did in Gethsemane
F. Jesus modeled a lifestyle of prayer.
Jesus prayed to his heavenly Father in unbroken communion. He began his public ministry in prayer. He prayed in solitude before dawn and marked the turning points of his ministry with periods of prayer. Before he went to the cross he agonized in prayer submitting to His Father’s will. Such is the prayer life of Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we too must follow his example. If Jesus prayed while he was on earth, how much more we should be living a lifestyle of prayer.
