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The offer of salvation is universal, hence also intercessory prayer should be general:
v. 5. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
v. 6. who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
v. 7. Whereunto 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.
v. 8. I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
This fact, that the gracious will of God unto salvation extends to all men, is so important that Paul brings another point in support of his statement: For one God there is, one Mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, He that gave Himself as a ransom for many, to be attested to at His own time. There is only one true, revealed God, therefore there is only one gracious will unto salvation. The matter must not be represented as if God had one will for those that are saved, and another will for those that are damned. He has only one will, that of His grace and mercy, by which He desires all men to be saved. Furthermore: The Mediator Christ Jesus, God and man in one person, is one; the redemption is one. There is no varying degree of excellency and power for the various people in the world, as if the atonement were not just as full and complete for the gross transgressor as for the self-righteous moralist. The redemption of Christ Jesus is there for all men in the same degree. He is purposely designated the Mediator between God and men, for His atonement has come in between God and the sinful, condemned world and has restored the relation which should obtain between God and men. By becoming a true man, by taking upon Himself the sin, the guilt, the punishment, the death and damnation of mankind, He has made full satisfaction for all men; as the Advocate and Representative of all men He can step before God and demand full acknowledgment from divine justice for His satisfaction, for His work of redemption. All of this was accomplished through a single work of redemption, through the fact that Christ gave Himself as the ransom instead of all men. They should have been slaves in the power of the devil in all eternity, but He paid the full price to deliver them, and salvation is now prepared before the face of all men, to be attested to by all the ministers of the Gospel and by all Christians in this great age of fulfillment as the most glorious fact of all ages. All the world should hear this testimony, all men should be assured of salvation in Christ Jesus.
This thought gives the apostle an opportunity to point to his apostolic authority: For which I am ordained a herald and apostle, (the truth I say—I am not lying,) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Paul had been called, ordained, for this testimony, for this proclamation of the grace of God, particularly to the Gentiles, Act_9:15. His life's work was that of being a herald of the Lord, of preaching the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins, 1Co_9:27; 1Co_15:12. Moreover, he belonged to the special ministers of God, to the men that had been fitted out, endowed with special apostolic power and authority. In the face of all actual and possible opposition on the part of errorists, of Judaizing teachers, the apostle can place the calm asseveration that he is not guilty of lying, but is speaking nothing but the truth. Paul could not and would not yield his position for one minute, for he was responsible to God for its proper upholding. He is a teacher of the Gentiles in faithfulness and truth. These were the two attributes which characterized his work; to these he could point without undue self-glorification; they were evident before the eyes of all men in his ministry.
With the reasons for general prayer thus abundantly established, the apostle now resumes his admonition: It is my will, then, that the men should pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without anger and doubt. The apostle's tone here is very solemn and emphatic, he delivers his charge by virtue of his apostolic authority. The men should pray, they should have charge of the prayers in public worship. In every place such prayers should be offered, for the worship of the New Testament is not confined to any particular buildings or holy localities. No matter where a Christian congregation meets for worship, whether that be in the finest cathedral or in a sod-house on the prairie, the prayers are acceptable to God. Only they must be made in such a way that the men raise holy hands, lifting them up in a gesture of prayer which was in use in the Church of the Old Testament as well as in that of the New. Holy, pure hands are mentioned as representing the proper condition of the whole body, for a heart that is filled with thoughts and projects at variance with the holy will of God cannot pray acceptably, and the finest gesture of prayer is hypocrisy in such a case. Therefore Paul adds: Without anger and doubt. So far as men are concerned, the heart of those that pray, in public worship must be free from bitterness, vengeance, hatred, wrath. And so far as the Lord is concerned, a heart that expresses a prayer and still is filled with doubts as to the possible fulfillment of the prayer, defeats its own ends. Doubt not only interferes very seriously with the earnestness of prayer, but actually neutralizes its effects, for doubt is unbelief.