我們該怎樣禱告
提摩太前書二章1至8節
1我勸你第一要為萬人懇求、禱告、代求、祝謝，
2為君王和一切在位的，也該如此，使我們可以敬虔、端正，平安無事地度日。
3這是好的，在神我們救主面前可蒙悅納。
4他願意萬人得救，明白真道。
5因為只有一位神，在神和人中間，只有一位中保，乃是降世為人的基督耶穌。
6他捨自己作萬人的贖價，到了時候，這事必證明出來。
7我為此奉派作傳道的，作使徒，作外邦人的師傅，教導他們相信，學習真道。我說的是真話，並不是謊言。
8我願男人無忿怒，無爭論（註：或作“疑惑”），舉起聖潔的手，隨處禱告。
信息分享
保羅寫這封書信的目的，乃是要教導提摩太如何帶領會眾認識純正的道理和聖潔的行為。保羅首先就提到禱告；但反觀我們，卻經常忽略禱告，常常沒有把禱告放在首要位置，等有空的時候才禱告，並任由討論、工作、日常忙碌擠走禱告的時間。
留意保羅在第1節說「我勸你，第一要……」，接著他便列舉各種我們需要用到的禱告，並特別提到四種禱告方式：懇求、禱告、代求、祝謝。當然，我們還可以加上敬拜和頌讚。
第一個詞「懇求」，意即我們可為某些具體需要向神祈求。我們的禱告很容易流于簡單地求神「祝福某人」；然而，我們若能知道代禱對象的具體需要，包括朋友、宣教士、所愛的人、教友、非信徒等，我們就可以為他們的需要向神懇求。
「禱告」是指一般的祈求，而「代求」則是代表某人向神祈求。我們經常忘記在禱告中謝恩。我們怎樣懇切祈求，也當怎樣懇切謝恩。我們能否檢查一下，所有這些內容是否都包含在我們日常的禱告中呢？
那麼，我們又該為誰代禱呢？保羅教導我們要為這世上的當權者禱告。我們有這樣做嗎？保羅指出，我們若時常為他們禱告，就能更加平安度日。
最後，保羅更要肯定我們懂得奉誰的名禱告。這段經文包含了新約中一個最重要的真理：基督是神人中間的惟一中保，我們不再需要靠任何人，祂填補了神人之間的所有空缺。這寶貴的真理就足以讓我們感謝神。
HOW WE SHOULD PRAY
1 Timothy 2: 1-8
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
Message
This epistle was written so that Timothy would know how to instruct the churches in doctrine and behaviour. Paul makes prayer a first priority. We often fail here. Instead of making prayer absolutely essential, we pray if we have time and often prayer is crowded out by discussion, business or busyness.
Notice Paul’s word in verse 1- “I urge, then; first of all,” then he goes on to list the various kinds of prayer we need to use. Four ways to pray are mentioned - requests, prayers, intercession, and thanks giving. We could add others such as adoration and praise.
The first term - requests, might suggest that we should be more specific in our praying. It is easy to pray “God bless so-and-so”, but when we know of a definite need in the life of a friend, missionary, loved one, church member, or unsaved person, we should spell it out before the Lord.
“Prayers” could suggest general petitions while “intercession” is asking on behalf of another. “Thanksgiving” is often omitted from our praying. We need to be as specific in our thanks as we are in our asking. Can we check up right now on how many of these are regularly included in our praying?
Then who should we pray for? The answer is for those who are over us in this world. How often do we do that? Paul says if we did we would live more peaceable lives than we otherwise might.
And Paul makes sure that we know in whose name we should pray. One of the great truths of the New Testament is here in this passage - we don’t need anyone else, Christ is the one and only mediator between God and man. He fills all the space between. Why not thank God today for this wonderful truth?