First of All

I TIM 2:1-8
Paul was a man of prayer. It seems that we spend a lot more time discussing his theological teachings than his teachings on prayer. Not that there is anything wrong with his theology or studying it. The problem is that we do so at the neglect of his powerful teachings on prayer. Let’s take a look at some of these teachings.
To begin with, he puts prayer first. He starts by saying “first of all”. Prayer is primary and should come before anything else. We do not pray to ask God to bless what we have already decided to do. If we make a decision to do something before we pray about it, then we are on our own. Sometimes that’s called the yoyo approach (You’re On Your Own). God wants us to come to Him for direction in our lives, not confirmation that we made the right decision without His help. We are so prone to choose things that we like to do because we enjoy doing them. That’s okay in our personal lives, at least to some degree but when it comes to serving God, it is disobedience. Just because we are filling a position in the church does not mean that we are serving God. Sometimes we are only serving ourselves or attempting to salve a bleeding conscience.
I love the story about the woman who, when she wanted to do something for her husband, would bake him a rhubarb pie. She loved baking rhubarb pies and was quite good at it. The only problem was that he did not like rhubarb pies. She was only doing what she enjoyed doing and wanted him to enjoy the fruits of her labor. Her efforts were self-serving. He did not get any satisfaction or fulfillment out of what she did. Neither does God pleased with our self-serving efforts in the church. Sometimes we accept a position to serve in the church in order to avoid what God really wants us to do. God doesn’t want substitute service. He wants us to do what He calls us to do.
If we do not seek first of all His will and direction, we will be misguided and will not find a sense of joy in service. More than anything else, joy comes as a result of obedience. It may come in the midst of doing something we thought we would not like to do. There is a song that says, “It is no sacrifice to follow Jesus”. No matter what we have to give up to follow Him in loving obedience, we will be more than rewarded both here on earth and later in heaven.
Prayer cannot be relegated to later when we have more time. God wants us to seek His leadership before we consult with ourselves. First of all means before anything else. Therefore He wants us to pray to begin each day. Prayer is to be the foundation of all that we do. Before we start looking for that new house or new car, we should pray. Before we go to work, before we start a project at home, before we start studying to teach a Bible Study lesson, before we go to choir practice, before we go to school, before we do anything we are to seek His guidance.
When we do some simple task such as go to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread? Certainly not! Ask God to safely take you there and return you home. God may even give you an opportunity to minister to someone while you are out. He may have a blessing in store for you if you dedicate this simple little trip to Him. How long does it take to say, “God please give me a safe trip and bless any encounter I have with people on this trip”. This kind of prayer might prepare you for any difficult encounter you might have with someone. To pray for “mundane” things like this is “praying without ceasing”.
God wants us to pray first of all, during, and at the conclusion of all of our activities.