As we observe those around us living in sin, apart from God, alienated from His life (Ep 4:18), what do we do? Do we judge them? Dishonor them?
God encourages us to pray for them, intercede for them, and give thanks for them (1Ti 2:1), asking Him to spare their lives and bear patiently with them. (1Jn 5:16) He’s engaging us in the process of showing them His love (2Co 5:20) and giving them more time to repent. (2Pe 3:9)
God intends to do this through our engaging with Him; as we participate, we co-labor with God in working out His eternal plan. (1Co 3:9) What a privilege for God to invite us onto the battlefield with Him, engaging His enemies on His behalf! Then into His headquarters, to be working out His strategy with Him!
God has a purpose in every human life (Re 4:11), and we should be constantly thanking Him for this (Re 7:12), as He works all things after the counsel of His own will. (Ep 1:11)
God is patient, waiting, inviting all to repent and come to Him. (1Ti 2:4) To have His heart is to be patient along with Him, thankful for all things (Ep 5:20), asking Him to continue His work as He pleases. (Mt 6:10)
This might be thought of as a gateway command to intercession, an easy way to start training our souls in the habit of priestly prayer. Each soul we come across becomes a ministry, a way to bring men before God, asking Him to bless them, to glorify Himself in them. It will be easier to love people as ourselves, in deed and in truth, if we are in the habit of interceding for them.
Jehovah is starting to help me do this, a tiny bit, and it changes the entire experience of life. I was initially thinking that I should pray for those who I saw committing some kind of sin, since this is the context of the topic verse for the post. But 1Ti 2:1 tells us to pray for everyone, for each and every living soul.
Praying for souls as I my path crosses theirs positions me to love them as myself before ever knowing what kind of people they are. This is so simple and so good and so profound … how did I ever miss this as a regular practice for the first 30 years of my eternal life? I don’t recall it ever being mentioned in a sermon I heard, or in a book I read, or ever discussed in a Bible study or fellowship conversation. Seems sort of basic to me. It makes me wonder what else I am missing in the foundation of my faith.