Where unto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
Paul makes this command to meet a perverse objection: some think we need only pray for believers and the Church, and why concern ourselves with strangers? He cuts through that reasoning and orders us to pray for all men without exception, not limiting our prayers to the body of the Church alone.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Timothy 2:1-15
Prayer for all men, even kings who persecute us, flows from the very nature of Christian faith. Paul gives no fixed form, trusting the Spirit to guide; he sets only the general heads: supplications to avert evil, prayers for good, intercessions for others, thanksgiving for mercies received. This diffusive charity marks us out from every sect.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Timothy 2:1-8
I will therefore that men pray everywhere,.... In this declaration of the apostle's will concerning prayer, he only takes notice of "men"; not but that it is both the duty and privilege of women, as well as men, to pray in their houses and closets; but because he is speaking of public prayer in the church, which only belongs to men, he speaks only of...