Pray

          I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (I Timothy 2:1-4)

          At least by comparison, if you liked our last president, you probably hate our current president. If you like our current president, you probably hated our last president. Or, you may hate both and are hoping for something better to come along in the next election. According to today’s passage, how you feel about your leaders doesn’t matter. It doesn’t give us instructions about what to do when we like a leader and what to do when we don’t. It gives one set of instructions to follow no matter how we feel.

           We are to petition God for and about them. That means appealing to God’s authority with regard to them. We are to pray for and about them. We are to intercede on their behalf, coming between them and God to plead with the Father for their good. We are to be thankful to God for them. Of course, this isn’t just a king thing, we are to do this for all who are in authority. Kings, presidents, senators, congressmen, justices, and those who fill those roles at the state, county, and local levels, for our military, from the national to the civil (local police.)

          We are to pray for them whether we like them or not, and whether we approve of what they are doing or not. Since we have an electorate system, I submit that we are to pray for them beyond the winning or losing of the election. Prior to the last election, a prayer group formed at my church with this mission. We were not to pray for a specific victor in the elections, though I’m sure we all had strong feelings about who we wanted to see in an office. Each week, we came together to pray for the candidates, for the nation, and for the voters.

            I’ve been to prayer meetings before. These were cool, and I was sorry when the election was over that they were discontinued as having served their purpose. I hope they begin again this summer. Of course, there was nothing to stop me from continuing to pray, except myself.

           When I’m in my place down south, I seem to do better in this regard. As I walk Grace in the morning, I try to pray for each household I pass, and in between them, to pray through a series of levels, for the executives, for their cabinets, for the senates, houses, and councils, for the judges, and for the protection/defense and emergency services personnel at national, state, county, and local levels. In order to keep my feelings, my arrogance, and my ignorance out of things, I pray for each to be blessed with a fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control) wherever they happen to fall into that list. I pray also for their salvation or sanctification (usually the former because it’s a shorter word but with the understanding that if they’re saved, I really mean the latter.) Lastly, I ask that they would be blessed with either wisdom or safety, depending on my understanding of their job. Sometimes, I pray for both wisdom and safety.

           I confess, I’m not as good about praying for candidates for office, at least until we’re past the primaries. I don’t tend to pay attention to who is running until the primary weeding process is over.

           This isn’t the only possible way you can do what this passage teaches. The principle is simple: we should pray for the well-being of those in authority over us, no matter how they are in authority and whether we like them or not.