1 Timothy 2, we are going to be looking at verses 1-7 today. We talked last week about Paul’s call to Timothy and to us that we live our lives with a war time mentality, and how that should shape our lives as believers. We saw how there will be casualties to the conflict. Now, if I told you we are at war today in our culture and society, who is our enemy? We are a polarized society to be sure, there are factions of people all around us. there are democrats verses republicans, rich verses poor, white verses black, western verses middle eastern, I could go on. So, as Christians, who is our enemy? Who do we fight against? and How do we fight? Well, the reality is this, there is no human being, or people group that is our enemy. And when you find yourself complaining or judging, you need to stop and pray.
If we are going to be a people defined by the Gospel, who spread the Gospel to this dying world, we cannot afford to be hung up on man made distinctions. we must pray for and love all people. That includes our president, that includes the fighters in ISIS, that includes Democrats and Republicans, that includes African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Vegan, hipsters, art students, musicians, millennials, the elderly, our military, and pacifists, LGBT people, liberal theologians. Any kind of distinction you can come up with, our treatment of them must not be vilification. They are not the enemy. They are people whom God loves. How do I know this? lets look at the text.

SO Paul has been addressing us on our protection of sound doctrine, and how we need to have this wartime mentality, and the first thing that he tells us to do in this fight is to pray.

The content of prayer. 1-3. All types of Prayers… for all types of people…for peace, in all types of ways…
The heart of Prayer. 4-6. It pleases our Lord… Who has a heart for all the nations…Because He is the God of all the nations…
The example of Prayer. 7. Paul was appointed to teach the Gentiles…