2 TIMOTHY 1:1-4 THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

2 To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy.

The fundamental work in a pastoral relationship is prayer. Eugene Peterson has gone as far as to say that “The single most significant phrase that a pastor can speak (either aloud or sub voce) is ‘I will pray for you’” (Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, p.61). Through prayer we keep the others, our neighbor and God, in the middle of our thoughts and present on our agendas. Prayer is the other-centered thinking and acting that is central to the Christian life. In prayer we remove ourselves and our egos from the focus of attention and humbly turn to God as the source of all healing, peace and security. We remind both ourselves and our neighbors that the answer to all our needs, from the mundane to the eternal, is to be found in God.

Pastoral relationships and the associated prayer is not to be left only to the professionals. All believers need to develop a pastoral heart because they are disciples of Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd. In the master-disciple relationship, the disciple learns from the master to do what the master does. Jesus prayed for his disciples, those who would follow them, those who were executing him and is eternally interceding for all of us at the throne of the Father. Jesus, who loves the Father, was and is lifting up the needs (known and unknown) of the people he loves (enough to die for) to the Father. When we put this activity in the context of the Incarnation and crucifixion of Jesus we realize that through prayer we are participating in the eternally relevant work of reconciliation; between pray-er and pray-ee, between pray-ee and God and between pray-er and God. When viewed under such light, prayer is revealed to be the vehicle through which everyone can fulfill the great commandment to love God and our neighbor. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus seems always to spend time in prayer to the Father before doing anything. That is the model we should follow. First and always pray, then the proper action will follow.

This day, O Lord, guide my thoughts back to you. Make the subject of my prayers the needs of those around me for your intervention in their lives. Keep me ever mindful of the needs of others and ever focused on you as the Lover of Souls. May I bathe every interaction and thought that I am privileged to have this day in prayer to you. Amen.