Verse 7
Paul’s final support of his command to pray for all people was this. God had commissioned him to herald the gospel to the Gentile world, not just to the Jews who were God’s favored people in times past. Paul proclaimed the faith truthfully, in contrast to the false teachers. His affirmation of truthfulness further emphasized his point.
"Just as Paul regarded his mission as the key to accomplishing God’s salvation plan, so too we must see the embodiment of the gospel in our preaching and involvement in the world around us as a requirement of Christian existence." [Note: Towner, The Letters . . ., p. 190.]
The churches of North America generally neglect this exhortation to pray. Most churches spend relatively little time at it and consequently reveal an attitude toward it that is quite different from Paul’s. I believe we have an unrealistic view of life. The world system promotes the idea that we do not need God, and we have accepted this heresy. In contrast Paul and all of Scripture teach that we are absolutely dependent on God (cf. John 15:5). The degree to which we believe that will be the degree to which we pray.
"The practice of prayer cannot be forced by an outward command but must be prompted by an inner conviction of its importance and need." [Note: Hiebert, Working with God . . ., p. 49.]
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