Praying for Leaders
In the first half of chapter 2 (1 Timothy 2:1-6), Paul gives instruction on things we should do in our daily life. He often requested prayer for himself and for the work of God, but he didn't want his readers to stop there. He asked that we pray for everyone and especially leaders. But as is clear in the verses that follow 1-2, this was primarily oriented first that they accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. It is God's and Jesus's desire that everyone be saved. God doesn't want anyone to be lost and to end up in the lake of fire that was originally created for the angels (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 19:20, 20:10, 21:8).
Clearly, Paul lived in a time when the leaders were not, in general, Christian. Other leaders were Jewish, who were also opposed to Christianity. So his comments for the people of his day weren't really much different than we could make of many leaders today. He still told his followers to pray for those who were in authority so that they could live peaceable lives, and could be godly and honest in God's sight even if that lifestyle went against what the norm of that day. Does that seem familiar to our situation today?
No matter what your politics are and no matter what style of government you are under, God wants you to pray that your leaders will be saved in order to give blessings to the people subject to them. You can still pray for other things you think God would like to see done. But that shouldn't be at the expense of praying that the leaders themselves accept Christ as Savior and start living and leading as Jesus Christ would. We don't see much of that today in America.
But don't forget that the first verse asks us to pray and make intercession, and thanks for all men. Not just the few we like and have been elected to leadership positions. We need to see all people come to Christ in order to have any hope of a decent civilization in which to live. It's hard to give thanks for some people. If you can't think of anything to give thanks for in a particular individual you know, give thanks that they aren't worse than they are! You can always find something good if you look hard enough.
Are some people better leaders? Are some people easier to be around? Of course. We all have different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. But all of us Christians are saved by the same grace that saved Paul. We're all sinners saved by grace. None of us are as good as we should be at some points in our lives (or perhaps many points in our lives). But we are called to forgive, and told that the measure of our forgiveness of others would be used against us when we are judged. For some, that should be a scary thought (Matthew 18:35; Mark 11:26; Luke 6:37, 11:4, 17:3-4).
No matter how good or bad a leader is, we should pray for them. We should pray first that they be saved. If they can't be saved, then we need to turn them over to God's hands. He's the ultimate judge anyway. We peons in the world will never know everything about every decision our leaders make. Some of the information is classified "top hush". Try your best to pray your best for them, and if they can't be saved, then do your best to try to get a Christian to take their place in the next election - or at least a better Christian!
There aren't many Christians in politics to start with. Maybe you should run for office. Sadly, I saw a Chinese study that those who plagiarized were more likely to go into politics, and those who plagiarized most heavily advanced the quickest, so that isn't encouraging. I doubt we're much better than their government officials. We might have some that are more independent, but the follow the boss sentiment is sometimes very strong. But pray for the best outcomes anyway!
Standards for Behavior
The last part of the chapter has been a bit controversial at times. I'll start with the first bits that aren't really a problem. In 1 Timothy 2:7-8, Paul declares that he was ordained as a preacher and an apostle, teaching primarily the gentiles. It is true that wherever he went, he made it a habit to talk to the Jewish people first, but once that was done, he concentrated on the gentile population. He taught in faith, and tried to always speak the truth.
His hope was that people would pray often and in corporate settings. But evidently the church at Ephesus had some issues. Some had doubts. Others prayed with a wrathful spirit. I'm not sure if the wrath was directed at other fellow Christians who were praying or whether they were praying wrathful things. I suspect, given the nature of the start of the chapter, that they were praying down wrath on the leaders of their city and the overall Roman occupiers and their leaders. Paul tells them not to do such things.
I've also prayed down wrath a time or two in my life. It probably wasn't effective for me either. But I've tried to change my ways as I've grown older and do try to pray for people to be saved first. If they can't be saved, I pray for them to be taken out of power so that someone else can fill their shoes who might be better. Term limits would be a really good help, but the politicians will probably never limit their power that way.
Regardless, I need to do better. There's an old saying that if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all. That would probably apply to our prayer life as well. It's a fine line to try to get people to open their eyes to problems or to just be quiet. You have to try to listen to the Holy Spirit in what you say or write. It isn't easy. There's lots of things I could say but don't, whether about the church or the government. But wherever you are or whatever you are praying for, wrath doesn't have a place. You can make your petitions known to God and let Him decide. He's the only one who knows all the facts anyway.
In 1 Timothy 2:9-15, Paul then turns to women. You should all take a moment to refresh yourself about what the scripture says there. Adam was first formed. Then Eve was taken from him. Eve listened to Satan and was deceived, but Adam was right there during the important parts, so he wasn't blameless either.
There is an extensive list of women who worked for the cause of Christ in the Bible. While I do think that it is God's plan that men take the primary role, I don't think that it is at the exclusion of women. The work is simply too large for the few willing men to handle alone. I've had some very good Sunday School and Kid's Church teachers and leaders who were women in my life. I've know many who are filled with the Holy Spirit and minister in the church. There are many pastors, missionaries, and other leaders who are women. They do great work for God.
The Assemblies of God has a good position paper Women in Ministerial Leadership which lays out the history of women in the Bible, and in our denomination. You should refer to it for detailed information.
But as to this passage, I would agree with them that it was directed to that particular church, and not a general prohibition against women working in the church. As noted elsewhere, Ephesus was the location of the temple to Artemis and was also a center for local a local female god that was worshiped. I think it is clear that just as some men praying in wrath was a problem there, some women trying to bring in concepts from Artemis was also a problem.
I suspect that dressing appropriately was also an issue due to the pagan nature of the city. Everyone should dress modestly, and especially when in church as a matter of respect for each other and to not be a distraction to each other while worshiping. That would still apply today. If you don't have anything else to wear, don't not come to church for that reason. But we shouldn't dress up in outlandish outfits or tuxedos or formal wear that stand out and draw attention to us when we come either. Go for modest and the best you have, and that should be good enough for everyone.
This is one of the passages that I feel needs the cultural context it was written for and also lacks a certain amount of information that would have been known to Paul and Timothy, but wasn't included in the letters. We'll have to wait to get to heaven to get the true details. But for now, when God is working through anyone - man or woman - praise God for it and don't try to dampen it or stamp it out. God needs all the workers He can muster to do His work in the way He has chosen to do it.