Paul says in verse 8, "I want men in every place to pray…"

The context, of course, limits this to Christian men. Paul wanted Christian men to pray.

	He didn't say he wanted men who talk about prayer.
	He didn't say he wanted men who say they believe in prayer.
	He didn't say he wanted men who can teach a five-point lesson in the church about prayer.
	He didn't say he wanted men who say, "My thoughts and prayers are with you," as we so often here today, even from people who don't believe in God.

He said he wanted men who actually pray.

	Men who make time in their busy work schedules to get on their knees alone with God.
	Men who believe that beseeching God is a "manly" thing to do.
	Men who have found a regular quiet place where they can call on God without interruption, their own private "prayer closet."
	Men who pray for the needs of their wives.
	Men who pray for their children and grandchildren, one by one, by name.
	Men who hold up their church and its leaders before God.
	Men who pray for their lost friends and neighbors.
	Men who pray for the salvation of even their enemies.
	Men who pray for the nation, the President, and their other elected officials.
	Men who pray for peace, as Paul says in verse 2 of this chapter, so that we may practice godliness with dignity.

Men who really pray.

I've done it before. I wonder if you have. I've said, "I'll pray for you," then forgotten my promise. I've gotten so busy that I have gone full days without any prayer except a quickly uttered "thank you" at mealtimes. I've had times when someone has hurt me, and rather than pray, I've nursed my hurt. I've been angry with my wife to the extent that I've ceased to be "understanding" as Peter instructed in 1 Peter 3, and known that my prayers were hindered.

I say these things to let you know that these words are aimed at all of us, not just you. I seek regularly to control my own tendency to prayerlessness. So should we all, because God wants men who really pray.

"I want men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands…"

Leave it to the devil to help us quote scripture, then misapply it. These words have often become the canon fodder for those who wish to assert their opinions on what we should do in our public worship. Should we "lift up hands" in church, or not? That's not the issue Paul was addressing.

He's speaking of prayer. One of the positions people adopted in the first century for prayer was lifting their hands up toward the sky. Of course we also know that they sometimes fell flat on their faces before God in prayer and sometimes got on their knees.

This passage isn't teaching a prayer posture. It's teaching about preparation for prayer by the one praying. Paul wants us to have "holy hands." If we paraphrased it, we might say, "Clean hands."

God wants men to have clean hands before Him.

	Hands that aren't polluted by sin.
	Hands that serve Him.
	Hands that are not quick to fashion evil.
	Hands that reach out to help others.
	Hands that defend the weak and the oppressed.
	Hands that reach out to give comfort to the grieving.
	Hands that work to earn their own bread and, except in cases of true need, aren't always finding their way into the provisions of others.
	Hands that seal a promise with a handshake and then keep that promise.

Holy hands.

Take your hands out and look at them. Are they holy before God?

Some of us have leathery, callused hands, made that way the manual labor we do each day. Others of us have softer hands, agile for running a computer keyboard, gripping a steering wheel, or clutching a briefcase. Still others have hands accustomed to signing orders that direct the labors of those we supervise. Our hands are different from one another perhaps, but one thing they should all have in common - they should be holy hands. Holy in what they refuse to do and holy in what they find to do.

I remember from several years of managing a junior camp, lining the kids up for their "hand inspections." Group leaders would have all the kids hold out their hands to be sure that they had washed them before meals.

Why not allow God to inspect our hands? Why not go to Him to cleanse anything that should not be there and develop anything that should?

We cannot expect God to answer our prayers if our hands are not clean - if our hands are not holy.

"I want men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, Paul says, "without wrath and dissension."

"Wrath" and "dissension": What do these two words mean?

Looking at the first one, the word "wrath," perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is "anger."

There are two words in the Greek language that are translated "anger" or "wrath." One is thumos which speaks of a quick-flash kind of anger, the kind that comes quickly to the surface, blows up, then goes away. The other word, the one used here, is orge¢ and its nature is quite a bit different. It is a kind of long-lasting, seething-under-the-surface kind of anger. It is more an attitude than a passion. Perhaps it is related to the "root of bitterness" that we read about in Hebrews 12:15. Such a person has an angry disposition, one that is seldom settled. It lashes out at anyone who provokes it, but was probably present before the most recent incident that revealed it.

The second word, while not directly related to the first, is often the result of this kind of wrath. The word is dissension. It has to do with squabbles - arguments. You may know someone who will argue anything - it matters not what it is, he will take the opposing position. No one, especially those closest to him, can get along with him.

As I considered how this might apply in the case of us men, I considered anger and dissension that might arise among us as men. That certainly can be a problem. However, my mind went immediately to our relationships with the person closest to us - our wives. I see quite a few men who are consistently angry (the "wrath" idea). They're angry at their boss, angry at the next door neighbor, angry at the kids, angry at the meter-reader, you name it. As a result they are always arguing - always disputing. Often the primary recipient of this wrath and dissension is the one closest to them - their wife.

Why is it that we can so effectively hurt the ones we love the most? I think I know the answer. The man who is wrathful, that is, full of this long-lasting, under-the-surface, seething kind of anger, will focus it on someone. He simply cannot keep it in. As he considers his options, his wife and children are the most likely recipients because he thinks he can get away with it.

	If he directed it toward his boss, he'd be fired.
	If he directed it toward his "buddies" they'd cut off his friendship.
	If he directed it toward the policeman who stops him for speeding, he'd be arrested.

So he holds it in until he comes home. Then he unloads it on his mate. She can do little but express anger in return, which only serves to make him burn all the hotter. Most women can't stand up to an angry man, so he finds he can express his anger toward her with impunity - until the day she finally gets a belly full and walks out.

In Paul's brief, but straightforward instruction to us as husbands and fathers in Colossians 3:19 & 21, he says, "Husbands, love your wives, and do not be embittered against them.... Fathers, do not exasperate your children, that they may not lose heart."

You probably recall the account of a man who growled at wife in a rough voice, "I want two eggs for breakfast, one fried and one scrambled." She quickly obliged, bringing him his breakfast along with some hot coffee and toast. His response was to growl at her further: "Well look at this. You fried the wrong one!"

Nothing frustrates a woman more than being forced to live with a bitter husband.

Nothing exasperates a child more than a father who is never pleased, who is always angry, who seldom or never praises when there is good reason.

The wife will often "shut down" her affections toward her husband. The child, once he or she is old enough, will either rebel or leave.

Paul's words here in 1 Timothy 2 are appropriate for men to hear and we all do well to heed them.