Praying for Our Government Leaders<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
1 Timothy 2:1-4
 
Paul Tautges
 
 
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions  and thanksgivings,
be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
 
When we commit to praying for our leaders, whether or not they are godly, God is pleased with us and is pleased to work in their hearts. When thinking about this duty, there is one passage that immediately comes to mind, 1 Timothy 2:1-4. In these verses, we hear the apostle's plea to prayer because of its priority and its purpose.
 
I.                   The Priority (v. 1a)
Paul begins with a phrase that calls attention to the primary importance of prayer: first of all. This is a plea to keep first things first. It is a plea not only to individual <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Christians, but since the book was written to instruct Timothy regarding church affairs (3:15), it is also a call to local churches to place utmost importance on prayer. As a young pastor, Timothy needed to guard against prayer being openly abandoned or subtly replaced in the church. How sad it is that the modern-day church has so little time for prayer. One of the secrets to the power that the New Testament church experienced is prayer, plain and simple. Acts 4:32 reveals this, when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness.  Prayer unleashes the Spirit's power in and through the church.
 
II.                The Plea (vv. 1b-2a)
I urge is a strong plea meaning "to come alongside to exhort." It is the same word used in Romans 12:1, I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Even though Paul had apostolic authority to command Timothy, he chose instead to make a strong appeal to him to recognize how important prayer is. Prayer should be made on behalf of all men, but especially, for kings and all who are in authority..
 
Paul uses four different words to give us a well-rounded picture of prayer. Entreaties refers to prayers that are prompted by being in need of something. Prayers is a general term referring to approaching God with reverence. The word petitions means to fall in line with someone, to empathize with people to the extent that you feel what they are going through. In this context it means to sense the sobering weight of responsibility that all of us, but leaders in particular, have before a holy God. Finally, thanksgivings are specific praises to God for what He has done.
 
The appeal is general at first and then gets specific. This is a sampling of the kinds of prayers that should be made on behalf of all men.
 
 
III.             The Purpose (vv. 2b-4)
In order that clearly states the purpose. The purpose of praying for our leaders is threefold.
 
A.     To promote peaceful and godly living (v. 2)
We must pray so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This refers to an external peace as well as an inner peace. How does praying for our leaders promote peace?  First, praying for God to give them wisdom in world affairs promotes peaceful living. Second, praying for the making of good laws that honor biblical principles leads to our being able to live in peace. Proverbs 21:1 says, the king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes. If we really believe this verse then we will go to God and pray for the Supreme Court, Congress, the House of Representatives, Senate, President, and so many others.  We should pray God will lead them like water in His hand to craft laws that are good for our land. We should pray for righteous legislators to be given "moral antennas" to discern corrupt laws as they move through the legislative process so that we may live in godliness and dignity.
 
Godliness includes holy attitudes and conduct before God. It is much more than outward conformity to a list of do's and don'ts. People can meet up to the standard of man-made lists and still have heart attitudes that are disgusting to God. Godliness is first an inner virtue that works itself outward in our behavior. Dignity means gravity or moral earnestness. It is a heavy word that emphasizes the seriousness of the matter. Godly living is serious business and, therefore, we should pray for conditions that promote holiness.
 
B.     To please God (3)
Praying for our government leaders is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Simply said, praying for our leaders pleases God. Pleasing God should be the top priority in our lives. Every decision we make should be made in light of the question, "Does it please God?" This was the Apostle Paul's priority: therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him (2 Cor. 5:9). Whether alive or dead, Paul's ambition was to please God. How ambitious are we?
 
Matthew 6:33 calls us to this kind of living: seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Seeking eternal priorities and doing what is right regardless of the cost is what it means to please God. When we have this overarching philosophy of life than the peripheral issues will take care of themselves. Paul prayed the Colossian believers would be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects (Col. 1:9,10). If pleasing God is our ultimate goal, as it should be, then we must pray for our leaders.
 
C.     To propagate the gospel (4)
We should pray for the salvation of all men, which includes our government leaders because God desires all men to be saved. The only way for them to be saved is to come to the knowledge of the truth. We must pray for their souls. We must pray they will come to know Christ, the only Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6). We should pray for the Holy Spirit's work of conviction: He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment (Jn 16:8). We should pray for witnesses to be heard: How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And witnesses to be sent: And how shall they hear without a preacher? (Rom. 10:14). We should pray for our leaders to be exposed to Scripture: So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17).
 
Our government leaders need us. They need us to pray for them with all diligence. It is crucial that we pray for them because it pleases God, but it is also a means of making a difference in our world, and in the state of eternal souls.