1 Timothy 2:8

‘I will therefore that the men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing.’

In the light of all this then he calls on all Christian men (andras) in every place where the church is found (for the Gospel is universally applicable) to lift up holy hands in full benevolence of spirit and harmony. Notice the ‘I will that --.’ His important part in the plan of salvation as the Apostle to the Gentiles (1 Timothy 2:7) has made him able to make total demands on those who hear.

‘Men.’ His use of aner (andras), which is a word regularly used as a contrast with ‘woman’, and also contrasts specifically with his use of anthrowpos (mankind) earlier (1 Timothy 2:1; 1 Timothy 2:4-5), must here be seen as specifically indicating males, especially in view of what follows. This is what is to be the major responsibility of men, along with the women (1 Timothy 2:9-10).

This exhortation to pray does not, of course, cancel out all the other things required of men, without which they could not have ‘holy hands’. It is, however, to indicate how prominent prayer should be.

‘Lifting up holy hands.’ The lifting up of hands was a common method of praying (compare Isaiah 1:15), but Paul stresses that they must be holy hands. They must be hands that are set apart for God, and therefore kept spiritually clean and pure (compare James 4:8). They may be covered with oil or dust or grit, but spiritually and morally they must be pure. They must be the hands of those who are doing their Father’s will, for ‘if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me’ (Psalms 66:18). They must remember that ‘the Lord is near to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as are of a contrite spirit’ (Psalms 34:18), and ‘the Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth’ (Psalms 145:18). See also Psalms 15:0 which details the requirements for approaching God;

‘Lord who will live in your dwellingplace,

Who will dwell in your holy hill?

He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness,

And speaks truth in his heart,

He who does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his friend,

Nor takes up an unpleasant accusation against his neighbour,

In whose eyes a rebel against God is despised,

But who honours those who fear the Lord,

He who makes a promise which will cost him something,

And does not change,

He who does not lend in order to gain from it,

Nor accepts a benefit in return for accusing the innocent,

He who does these things will never be moved.’

Consider also Psalms 26:6, ‘I will wash my hands in innocence, so will I have dealings with your altar’. Holy hands are a vital part of prayer, whether lifted up or kept firmly clasped.

‘Without wrath and disputing.’ As God desires peace and tranquillity in the world (1 Timothy 2:2), so there must be peace and tranquillity among the people of God, for they are God’s mirror and pattern to the world. Among God’s people there is to be a loving spirit (John 13:35 and often) and a controlled tongue (James 3:2-12; Matthew 12:36-37). Those who are filled with anger towards others can only pray for themselves. Those who are looking for, or participating in, an angry argument or a quarrel cannot expect that God will hear them. For those who would come to Him must be at one with one another (Matthew 5:23-25).

‘In every place.’ A typical Paulinism, compare 1Co 1:2 ; 2 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Thessalonians 1:8). For the idea of prayer in every place see Malachi 1:11 LXX; John 4:20-24.