1Timothy 5:5 - Purview of the aged?

“But the [one] really a widow and having been left alone has hoped upon God and is continuing in entreaties and prayers night and day.”

-Real widows.  Widows indeed.  These are those who have been left alone - but not in a good way, not in earthly terms at least.  No family, no visible means of support.  Her family, her primary familial connection then, is almighty God.  He has become her only means of support, her lifeline.  Which, technically, is always true for each one of us.  But this widow indeed, she is looking to the Lord.  Her hope is in Him.  He is her help, her shield, her rock and fortress.  He is her Good Shepherd, leading her beside still waters and into green pastures.  And she has learned (or is learning) to pray.  

-Obviously younger women and children can also find themselves with no visible means of support, and Paul of course is helping Timothy determine who should be receiving support from the assembly.  But what about prayer?  Is this the purview only of the aged, of those who have truly learned that horses and chariots and the vigor of youth ultimately do fail, but the Lord is a strong tower?  He is a ready source of strength for all, the gracious Provider of our every need.  Must it be that it is only when you have come to the end of your rope and your means and your power that only then do you truly fix your hope on the Lord?  Is it only then that you and I learn to pray?  Must it be this way?  In many ways it IS this way - we hear over and over about the faithful effective prayers of mom or grandma catching up with her chicks-flown-the-coop.  There ARE lots of things one can do, but surely there are none more effective than this.

-Men ramp up to do great exploits and bring home the bacon, and sadly often do leave much of the praying up to the women folk, do they not?  With all our doing, surely the most important “do” is to BE, to be still and know that God is God (Psalm 46.10), to acknowledge and to affirm that great truth and to live into it with true submission and dependence - expressed through consistent, persistent, insistent, confident prayer.  Surely we ought not leave this great work only up to the women, to the widows indeed.  There is no work more important - or accessible - than prayer.  Yes, there’s always something we can do, no matter our age, no matter our family or marriage status, no matter the time of day.  Day and night.  Day and night - any one of us can pray.  Don’t need any fancy degrees or special training.  Don’t need an office or a fancy building with a fancy sound system.  Any - and all - can be still and pray.  And no small work, this.  This is THE work of the ministry.  This is how the mighty muscle of God’s omnipotence moves, in response to the prayers of His people.  Of widows indeed.  There may be none who are weaker in the body, but those who are mighty in prayer are true giants in the church - and in our world.