“Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again. I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.”
2 Timothy 1:3-5 NLT
Paul chooses to not simply pray about people, but instead to pray for people. Coming from a strong tradition of pharasaical teaching, Paul’s previous life was about the transmission of heritage and liturgy. Anyone who broke from these things to pursue a faith in God that led to Christ was deemed heretical and Paul was one of the chief executioners. In Paul’s brief statement about Timothy, we can see that he no longer takes foregranted the transmission of genuine faith. He understands that it is the work of that faith that brings himself and Timothy together. This is especially paramount when you consider that in Paul’s previous life he probably would have labeled Timothy a traitor and sought to kill him. It is curious that the lineage of Timothy’s faith doesn’t include any male’s in Paul’s recounting. Perhaps this is why he feels especially connected with Timothy, as Paul’s father was a Roman citizen and his mother was Jewish? In any case, his prayer is for Timothy to be blessed. This prayer is comprised of his knowledge of Timothy and his family. It does not appear to be a surface level knowledge. It is an empathic prayer of camaraderie. And Paul shared it with Timothy. Too often, we hit none of those benchmarks in our prayers. We claim we are praying for someone, but truthfully we are praying about them, because we haven’t taken the time to understand them and build that sense of a tenderheart needed to commiserate.
JOSH McGARY. COM 