Pray for Everyone: A Christian Reason Act of Worship

            The content of the church’s prayers is a crucial issue in
worship. As worship not only tells the story of a covenant God but also
participates in and does that story[1]
(which is vast and diverse in the church), so corporate prayer ought to reflect
the diverse narrative that exists between God and his people. The Apostle Paul,
writing as a mentor to young Timothy, spent time teaching how the church is to
pray (1 Tim 2). Paul’s instructions to Timothy here center around the church’s
prayers in unity. Paul often makes clear his concerns for unity in the church.
In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle suggests that all in the body of
Christ are equal when he says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). Unity among God’s people plays a significant role in
Paul’s instructions to Timothy here regarding prayer. External factors are of
no concern in the body of Christ, for all are equal. Paul makes clear that God
“desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth. For
there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men” (1 Tim 2:4-5).
No one is excluded here. While the church is diverse, she is, nevertheless, a
unified people through the mediator, Jesus Christ.