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From doctrine (Chapter 1), Paul's attention in 1 Timothy turns to worship (Chapter 2). "I urge, then, first of all," he writes, "that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone" (1 Timothy 2:1).
Paul evidently thinks that worship - or at least prayer - should have first place in the life of the church. That's what he means when he says, "I urge, then, first of all..." He has rank or priority in mind, not time sequence. Prayer (or worship) is of first importance; it is to be given top priority in the life of the church. To use John Stott's words, "the church is [to be] essentially a worshipping, praying community" (p. 59).
Do prayer and worship have priority in our churches, or in our own personal lives? Do we see them as indispensable? Do we regard prayer as the mightiest weapon and the most powerful resource we have? Is our first response to a challenge, a problem, or a blessing to go to God in earnest, believing prayer about it? That's the way it should be.
Stott points out that Christian leaders today often speak of evangelism as the priority task of the church. As important as evangelism is, he argues, it is never the church's first task or priority. "Worship takes precedence over evangelism," he says, "partly because love for God is the first commandment and love for neighbour the second, partly because long after the church's evangelistic task has been completed, God's people will continue to worship him eternally, and partly because evangelism is itself an aspect of worship, a 'priestly service' in which converts 'become an offering acceptable to God'" (p. 59).
Even at a very practical level there is good reason for the God-ward activities of prayer and worship to have first place in our lives. To whom else can we go for the strength, wisdom and grace we need for the work we have to do? Is it not God who must strengthen our hearts and prepare us for every good work (1 Thessalonians 3:13; Hebrews 13:21)? And is he not the only One who can open the eyes of the blind and soften the hearts of the hardened - the ones we have to work with? It makes plain, practical sense to make prayer our first work, and the basis of all our other activities.
In that regard Stott is right when he challenges evangelical Christians regarding the importance they attach to worship. "This emphasis on the priority of worship has particular importance for those of us who are called evangelical" he writes. "For whenever we fail to take worship seriously, we are less than the fully biblical Christians that we claim to be. We go to church for the preaching, some of us say, not for the praise. Evangelism is our specialty, not worship. In consequence either our worship services are slovenly, perfunctory, mechanical and dull or, in an attempt to remedy this, we go to the opposite extreme and become repetitive, unreflective, and even flippant" (p. 59).
Worship and prayer are transformed when two spiritual realities grip us. The first is the infinite power and grace of God - power and grace that he is ready to lavish upon those who sincerely seek him. The second is our absolute impotence and need - our total inability to accomplish anything apart from God's enabling. When these two things come together in our lives they make us people who put prayer first. More than that, they make us bold, confident and expectant. With such a great God, and with help so near at hand, we realise that nothing that he calls us to do is impossible.