You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven- Matthew 5:44-45a NASB

Scripture predicts there will come a “day” when the world will be filled with gossipy jerks who slander the innocent without so much as a twinge of regret (1st Corinthians 6:10).   People will be self-obsessed and intent on amassing a large number of followers (Philippians 2:3-4).   Men and women will cut friends and family off without so much as a conversation. No one will be interested in any discussion of forgiveness, reconciliation or interpersonal healing (Matthew 5:23-24, Exodus 20:12, Mark 7:10, Ephesians 6:20). Individuals will be materialistic and thoroughly ungrateful for what they do have, always coveting more (Hebrews 12:28). A large majority will be duplicitous, prideful and unconcerned to the welfare of others (2nd Timothy 3:1-5). 

Sadly, not all of these folks will be unbelieving heathens. Many will be church goers who self-identify as Christ followers (2nd Timothy 3:5). Some will be Church leaders and Christian influencers (Matthew 13:24-30 and Matthew 13:36-43) Many will avoid teachers and doctrine that does not make them feel good about their choices.  Many “Christians” will possess a surfacy goodness but will be lacking the fear of God that makes someone truly godly (Malichi 3:16, Proverbs 8:13, Job 28:28, John 15:14). Many will be led astray, and life will become difficult for the sincerely Christian (2nd Timothy 4:3, Matthew 24:11-12). 

I am convinced the day the apostle Paul predicted would come is here (2nd Timothy 3:1-5). We are living in it.  Things will undoubtedly get worse before the return of Christ, nevertheless we are seeing the first fruits of the fulfillment of Paul’s prophecy in real time. Don’t get me wrong, there have always been evil people, some have even claimed to be Christians.  That being said not since prior to the dawn of the Christian age has evil existed in such a widespread, bold and understated kind of a way. We live in a time when even some “Christians” openly call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).  

We are called to be salt and light to all people all the time, even in a 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 kind of a world (Matthew 5:13). Living as salt and light in a world like ours requires wisdom and a whole lot of help from the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, Acts 1:8).  Prayer is the starting place of both wisdom and the presence of the Holy Spirit (Colossians 1:9, Acts 8:15). Following are some prayers we should pray daily if we want to survive  life in a 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 world:

Pray for wisdom to interact wisely-  

 Paul warns his readers against building close relationships with 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 people (2nd Timothy 3:5). This is unusual, because Paul does not normally shy away from encouraging evangelism (Romans 1:16, Romans 10:14, Philippians 2:15) or Christian fellowship, even with the messy and spiritually immature.  He commands caution because these folks (for the most part) claim to be Christian and yet their behavior does not line up with biblical teaching concerning some critical issues. Consequently, the inherent danger is that their sin and hypocrisy will become contagious and negatively impact our growth.  Therefore, it is critical we understand the indicators of a 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 kind of a person (excessive pride, covetousness, treating sin lightly, calling evil good, unforgiveness, lack of gratitude, an unwillingness to reconcile) and do everything we can to avoid being changed by their behavior (1st Corinthians 15:33). Our call as believers is to love people deeply but develop such an aversion to sin and sinful attitudes that our presence changes the spiritual tone of every situation, we find ourselves in, no matter what’s going on in the room (Jude 22-23). 

Pray we will all feel appropriate conviction- 

One of the worst things that can happen to a human is to lose the ability to feel gut-level conviction over their sin. Once conviction is gone it’s a hop, skip, and a jump to a seared conscience (1st Timothy 4:2). Once a conscience is seared it is almost impossible for a person to care enough about spiritual things to be saved or return fully to the truth they once embraced (Hebrews 6:4-8, Mark 10:27). Therefore, it is imperative we pray everyone (including us) will feel the appropriate level of conviction for sin. 

Pray the wrong influences will be limited- 

Influence is a big deal these days, to such an extent there are people who actually make a living influencing others (how weird is that?) Sadly, the most powerful influencers in our world are seldom godly or wise (Proverbs 13:20). Christians ought to pray routinely that the right kind of influences will have the loudest voices and the worst will be drowned out by truth and wisdom.  

And finally, 

Pray for discernment-

We really do live in the strangest of times. Behaviors and attitudes once considered sinful (unforgiveness, pride, immodesty) are now thought to be a sign of good mental health. Conversely, behaviors society once saw as universally desirable (humility, modesty, meekness, forgiveness, turning the other cheek) are now thought to be a sign of weakness and foolishness. Times such as ours require discernment and a gut-level commitment to doing life God’s way (Romans 12:2). There are no shortcuts to getting discernment. We can only acquire it through prayer, fellowship with other Christians and a commitment to knowing and obeying God’s word (1st Thessalonians 5:16-18, Proverbs 27:17, 2nd Peter 1:3-11)