Here Paul makes two specific requests. He says, “I desire”, or “I will” (KJV). (A third request for the women will be seen in a treatment of verses 11-15).
The first desire is for the men to pray (8). The prayers are to be holy, not corrupt or outside of God’s will. The one who is to pray is to do so without wrath (an impulse of anger) and without doubt (something Jesus acknowledged as problematic numerous times). Wrathful pray is a violation of God’s call to love one another; Doubting prayer shows a lack of faith in the Almighty.
The second prayer had to do with the dress and demeanor of women. The word modest (kosmios) means orderly, well-arranged, decent. A woman can violate this by being too ostentatious in dress, or by dressing sensuously (the common use of modesty in our culture). The dress that is appropriate is the dress that coincides with the woman’s profession as a Christian. It is holy dress, bringing light to the world.
