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First of all, Paul is stating his own personal opinion. Elsewhere (First Corinthians 7:7) Paul says that he wishes that all men were as he himself is -- that is, celibate. But that does not mean that it is wrong for men to marry. It does not even mean that it is right for a particular man to remain celibate. Pauls wish is exactly what Paul presents it as: Pauls wish, no more and no less. This observation alone clears up any charge of contradiction.

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As WhatchooTalkinBout has pointed out, this one does not solve the problem. If Paul was supposedly a holy man of God, penning God's Word, then why would he convey a wish for people to do something that Jesus said not to do? (In addition, the very fact that Paul -- or whoever actually wrote it -- was conveying merely a personal opinion flies in the face of the belief that the Bible is wholy God's Word.)

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Secondly, Jesus mentions here -- as He did when discussing almsgiving a few verses earlier -- that the error of the ones doing the public praying was their motive: to be seen of men. Private prayer ought to be the mainstay of Christians prayer-practices, but public prayer can sometimes be beneficial.... Those guided by the Holy Spirit should use wisdom, if they feel that a public prayer is appropriate, to assure that glory goes to God and not themselves.

Thirdly, a sub-question here is What did Paul mean by everywhere? Did he mean that he wanted men to pray, lifting up holy hands, in every conceivable venue? Or did he simply mean that in all assemblies where the Christians were meeting (in the area that Timothy was looking after), he wanted the men to lift up holy hands as they prayed? Most of First Timothy is about matters within the church; the application of this recommendation may likewise have been understood to be limited to prayers within the various church-assemblies.

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I agree with these two, and that's why I personally do not see these passages as contradictory. I think that the teaching in Matthew was directed at one's motives rather than merely the issue of where one prays. Also, it is quite possible that the 1 Timothy passage means for men everywhere to pray, rather than men visibly praying everywhere they go.

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