PRAYING FOR THOSE IN AUTHORITY!
I exhort therefore, that, first of
all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for
all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet
and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour…. — 1 Timothy 2:1-3
Even if we don’t like the way things
are going in our government, we must obey the apostle Paul’s
exhortation in First Timothy 2:1-3 to pray for our governmental leaders. Before
you dismiss Paul’s instructions to pray for those in authority as too
simplistic, remember that he lived at a time of grossly immoral governmental
leadership and that he ultimately was martyred by Nero — the very “king” he
asked people to pray for! In First Timothy 2:1-3, Paul declared, “I exhort
therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
giving of thanks be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in
authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour….”
Paul gave us six prayer
commands in these verses that God expects us to obey — regardless of who
is calling the shots politically. In this passage of Scripture, he clearly
defined guidelines for us to follow when we pray. Rather than rush to God with
accusations, complaints, grumbling, protestations, and whining, we are to
follow the positive approach in prayer Paul provided. He began by saying, “I
exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications….”
1. A Right Attitude
The word “supplications” is a
translation of the Greek word deisis, which describes the attitude of
one who beseeched a king. Access to a throne was a great privilege in the
ancient world, so when an individual approached a king, he showed respect and gratitude for
the privilege.
As Paul began to outline his
instructions regarding how we should pray, he reminded us of the kind of
attitude we ought to have when we draw near to God. Before we utter a single
word in prayer, we must clearly understand in our hearts that we have been
afforded a great privilege to access the throne room of God.
Regardless of the thoughts swirling around in our minds or the complaints we
may be harboring in our souls, we need to come into God’s presence with hearts
of respect and gratitude. We certainly are not to enter His
presence ready to unabashedly spew ugly, disrespectful, or slanderous words at
Him as though it’s His fault that things aren’t going the way we
wished they were going!
Therefore, the first thing we need to
do when we prepare to pray for our government is get our attitudes right.
2. A Prayer of Personal
Consecration
As Paul continued, he wrote, “I
exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers.…” The word
“prayers” — the Greek word proseuche — literally means an
exchange or a surrender and pictures a person who comes into the intimate
presence of God to consecrate himself as a first matter of priority.
So Paul affirmed that our first
responsibility as believers before we ever utter a request or a complaint
regarding others — before we utter anything else at all — is to enter
the presence of God and get our own attitudes and thoughts right before Him.
Then with clear hearts we can receive His thoughts and know His
ways in the place of prayer. When our own attitudes are corrected and
realigned, it usually changes the way we pray concerning others, because our
words reflect the Father’s heart instead of our own personal preference or
opinions.
Everything must be surrendered
to God and the power of His Spirit before anything else is spoken to Him in
prayer.
3. A Prayer of Intercession for
Others
Once a believer has dealt with his
own wrong attitudes and his need of consecration, Paul wrote what to do next.
He said, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions….”
The word “intercessions” is the Greek
word huperentugchano, which means to appeal to God on behalf of
someone else. Once you have dealt with your own attitude and consecrated
yourself to the will of God, you are in a position to appeal to God about
someone else.
Perhaps you sense the Holy Spirit’s
leading to pray for someone who is unable to pray for himself, such as a novice
believer who simply doesn’t know how to pray effectively, or for a government
leader whose spiritual condition and unwise decisions are negatively affecting
masses of people. In other words, you sense the Holy Spirit’s leading to assume
an intercessory position and to focus your prayers toward a specific
individual or situation. And if you have made sure your own heart is clear of
clutter, you can pray for others in this way while remaining free from any
selfish agenda or wrong attitude.
4. A Prayer of Thankfulness
Paul continued in his list of prayer
guidelines by saying, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks….” According to this verse,
you are also to give “thanks” while you are in God’s presence. This phrase
“giving of thanks,” which is a form of the Greek word eucharistos, depicts an
overflowing, grateful heart.
Let’s be honest — it’s difficult to
be grateful and thankful when you are harboring a complaining attitude at the
same time! God knows this. So He instructs you to allow thankfulness to flow
from your heart, which will literally shift your “inner atmosphere” during your
time of prayer.
So before you start griping about a
political leader — or anyone else for that matter! — first take time to think
of reasons you can be thankful regarding that person. This will change your
tone and make you more effective in prayer. And rest assured — God will
appreciate your change of attitude!
5. A Prayer for Everyone
Paul continued, “I exhort therefore,
that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of
thanks, be made for all men….” The word “all” means we are not to show
favoritism or to be picky about the people we pray for. Regardless of their
spiritual status or political affiliation, we are to pray for “all men.”
This is a good test, because if there is someone you think you can’t pray for,
it probably indicates a problematic attitude inside you that needs to be
consecrated to God. This is very important to understand, because your
inability to pray for someone actually reveals a deep need for change in you.
6. A Prayer for Governmental
Officials
Next, Paul said that we must pray for
“for kings.” If anyone needed prayer, it was the unsaved kings who possessed
lofty positions of power and authority in the First Century AD! But Paul
broadened the scope of this divine command by saying that we are to pray
for all who are “in authority.” The word “authority” used here
is huperarche and depicts prominent governmental officials.
Ponder that for a moment. That means we are to pray for all prominent
governmental officials — even those whom we don’t care for at all!
Paul told us the reason for all this praying is “…that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in
the sight of God our Savior….”
Most believers in New Testament times
had no option to vote, so they did what they could do and followed
Paul’s six prayer commands. I’m sure if they had been given the right to vote,
they would have rushed to the polling booths to cast their votes. But the only
vote they could cast was in prayer — so they prayed! Since their governmental
leaders were entrenched in power and there was nothing they could do to change
it, these early believers took their role in prayer very seriously. And
ultimately the power of those prayers brought about change far greater than any
election day could ever produce!
Remember — our democratic system
allows us to vote, and we must exercise this cherished right. But once the
election is over, we have to face the fact that the men and women who have been
placed in positions of power are there because of the democratic system that
elected them. They represent the choice of the people who put them there. If we
are unsatisfied with the outcome, our opportunity is coming again a few years
down the road to change the situation. Yet even so, our greatest effectiveness
will be found as we enter God’s presence in the authority of Jesus’ name and
fulfill these six prayer commands given by the Holy Spirit to the
Church through the apostle Paul!
MY PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, I cherish the right to vote. It is a freedom that cost the lives of
many. At the appointed time, I will exercise that privilege to make my voice
heard via my voting ballot. However, I realize that I don’t have to wait for an
upcoming election to cast my vote for righteousness. I take my place in prayer,
in obedience to Your Word, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, and I pray
with all manner of prayer and supplications. Seated together with Christ Jesus
and by the authority of His name, I pray with confidence according to Your
will, knowing that You hear me.
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY
I confess that I exercise my rights on earth and in Heaven. I pray for those in
offices of governmental authority as I exercise my authority in Christ through
prayer. I operate according to the divine law of love, and I refrain from
criticism and negative speech. Instead, I speak words in agreement with the
will of God and the establishment of righteousness in my land.
I declare this by faith in Jesus’
name!
AMEN! Never give up! Never give in! The enemy is expecting you to fold! Surprise him with your steadfast faith and belief in the Wisdom of God and His Mighty Word! YOU will never be the same and the enemy will be once more "ON THE RUN"! Here is Hillsong with "Not Today":
Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!
