I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all 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—the testimony given in its proper time. 1 Timothy 2: 1-6, NIV.
Dear LORD, we are happy to be in your presence. We ask that Your Holy Spirit will join us as we enter the study of Your Holy Word. In the matchless name of Jesus Christ we humbly pray, with thanksgiving. Amen.
We have come to the very heart of this Scripture, and of our discussion; to what has been God’s plan from before the foundation of the world: for all people to be saved! This salvation comes through a knowledge of the truth! We repeat John 3: 16 so often that we could overlook, or take for granted, what is the heart of the Gospel, what is the Good News: that Jesus Christ came to die for sinners, for “whosoever” believe in Him. That includes all of us. What is of particular interest to our study is the fact that the whole process begins with prayer! First, we pray for everyone, including those in authority. The result is peace and quietness, which facilitates holy and godly living, which is pleasing to God!
Let us spend some time with the thought that “God wants all [people] to be saved.” Because the human tendency is to accept those who we consider “good” while rejecting the ones, who in our opinion, are “bad,” it is difficult for many of us to accept the fact that God loves all of His children. We cannot understand that He and the heavenly host are working incessantly to save as many as will allow themselves to be saved. From the very beginning, even when our first parents were running away from God, because they were aware of their nakedness caused by sin, God had already begun the process of salvation by sacrificing an innocent animal in order to provide them with coats, made from its skin. Since that day, many animals have died, in order that we might live, until the real Sacrifice, Shiloh (Genesis 50: 10-12), would come, and be crucified thousands of years later.
It would appear as if God did not even allow the thought to enter His mind, that sinful human beings should die for their sins (that is, the death that represents eternal separation from God – the second death). Even before, the entrance of sin, the solution had been provided. Today, it is our privilege, and duty, as Christians, to cooperate in this process of salvation by helping men and women, boys and girls, to come to a saving knowledge of the Truth, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14: 6)! His death, burial, and resurrection, is the very heart of the Gospel. The Truth became flesh and lived among us (John 1: 14), that He might pave the Way for us to go to the Father, and in so doing, find everlasting Life!
“This is good, and pleases God our Savior.” I believe that there is nothing that brings as much joy to the heart of God, as seeing His children working for the salvation of one another. I believe the joy is twofold, because God knows that if we are busy working for each other, it provides a safeguard for our own souls. One of the most effective ways to do this is with intercessory prayer. The same night that Jesus Christ was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, He had asked Peter, James, and John, to keep watch, and to pray with Him (Matthew 26: 38, 40)! He had specifically warned Peter, that he should “watch and pray.” He told him that “Satan desired to sift [him] as wheat,” but that He (Jesus) had prayed for him (Matthew 26: 41; Luke 22: 31, 32). In praying for His disciples Jesus had strengthened His own soul, and was thereby prepared for the greatest trial that He would ever have to face. Even though the cup trembled in His hands (Matthew 26: 39, 42, 44), He resisted unto the end. As we said yesterday, there is power in intercessory prayer to bless both the one who prays, and the one who is prayed for.
While Jesus agonized and prayed for strength, Scripture informs us, ” ‘ “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. [He asked them] “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” ‘ ” Under these circumstances they lost that round in the fight, “Then all the disciples deserted him and fled” (56b). But praise God, they got up, and eventually won the fight! Jesus had prayed for them (John 17: 9)! God wants all of us to be saved – let us intercede for one another, for “this is pleasing” to the Lord!
NOTE: Some corrections and editing have been made to today’s devotional.