In a church filled riddled with false teaching and pagan influence Paul has left Timothy in Ephesus to implement the corrections. Paul begins his list of directions for Timothy to use in making course adjustments in the church of Ephesus by saying:

                “I urge, then, first of all…”

And, then what Paul tells in a list of corrections the church needs to make is how, who and why to pray.

How to pray? Paul lists three types of prayer and one attitude of prayer. The attitude is that of “thanksgiving” which would be a direct reflection of a faith that knows God is hearing and interacting with the prayers. The types of prayers could be synonyms to say “all types of prayer should be used.” But, a breakdown of the Greek words would look like this:

1. “Petitions” – deeseis – refers to desires and needs. This word originally meant in Greek “to chance upon.” And, since it was only by chance that a citizen would have a chance to stand before a king it came to mean, “to have an audience with a king.” An audience with the king meant you had a “chance” to speak to the king and present your needs and desires to him. Thus, deeseis came to mean “petition.”
2. “Prayers” – proseuche – this is the most general Greek word for prayer
3. “Intercession” – enteuxis – is only used twice in the NT, both times in 1 Timothy (2:1, 4:5). This Greek word carried the thought of a conversation and a petition. Origin in the second century said enteuxis referred to boldness to go before God presence to speak to him.

Who to pray for? Paul says these prayers should be made for “all people,” which would seem to be a point of correction in the church practice of prayer. It is possible the Ephesians where only praying for a selected group within the believers or for those who fit within a corrupted doctrine of concept of “the chosen.” The Ephesians appear to be neglecting prayer for those on the outside. Paul points out that those on the outside, such as kings and “all those in authority” in government positions, have a huge impact on the life of believers and on the opportunities of the church on earth which operates under these governmental powers. The point Paul is making is that the Ephesians should pray for those outside the church who have a huge impact on the world they live in and on the culture in which the Ephesians are to minister the truth.

Why pray? Just like God wants the Christians to pray “for all people,” Paul says God “wants all people to be saved,” and God “wants all people…to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Why pray? So that the church can present the Gospel to all people, and then, when those people are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, the church will have the freedom, the resources and the opportunity to lead those believers into the knowledge of the truth.”