Prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men

1 Timothy 2 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. ³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. ⁷ For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

⁸ Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

Believers and the church today need to heed these 8 verses. Our country, in fact the whole world has become so polarized around political, social, moral and even environmental issues, that dissension is prevalent even among believers, but certainly between believers and political authorities. Paul says:    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.    Keep in mind Paul was a man who suffered greatly at the hands of authorities; religious, political and law enforcement authorities alike had mistreated him. Paul says to pray for them, he says:  This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior            Jesus Himself says:  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)     Jesus asks nothing of us that He Himself has not done. Luke 23:33-37 says:       When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”  The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine,  and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”        Jesus prayed for, blessed those who crucified Him, those who mocked Him, even as He bore the pain and anguish of their sins.

Believers and the church today need to understand that it is not that we become aligned with the evil policies or practices of these authorities. We don’t make alliances with them and partner with them in their evil actions. 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 says:   Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you.       We need to take care and have discernment when we support or align ourselves with a politician or political party. We need to not concentrate or focus on what offends us or our culture and think about what offends God.

Still, we are encouraged, even commanded to pray for all authorities. Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 5:  love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you      We can be separated from the values and practices of politicians and political parties. They can even be and remain our enemies. That doesn’t change how we are to regard them in terms of prayer and seeking God’s blessing for them. When we focus on the darkness and the evil we see in others, when we speak of and declare that evil, when we try to overcome evil and hatred with evil and hatred we only increase the evil and we ourselves become overcome by evil.           Romans 12: 17-21 says:    Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  

As difficult as it is to walk in this commandment as believers, there are two reasons we are given as to why we should pray for all authorities, even those we oppose.  Paul says:    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.    Jesus says:  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven… Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.        So we do this, we pray for those in authority, even for those we oppose, even for those who persecute us, would because it is God’s will. Jesus prayed for them even as He was on the cross. He came to bring forgiveness and salvation to all men. That is the will of God. That should be our desire as well, joining God:   not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)   Or as Paul says:   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.  For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,  who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.

The other reason we are to pray for them has a more selfish motive.  Paul says:    so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.    Think of how much better it would be if leaders everywhere, if leaders throughout every part of our government, law enforcement, military and business had a revelation of Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Think of how much better it be if they became our brothers and sisters, rather than our enemies.

We need to search our own hearts. The psalmist says:   Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;  And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. (Psalm 139: 23-24) Are we ready to pray for and bless our enemies? Would we truly be happy if they were saved?  Paul says:  Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

Amen,  Lord begin with me. I pray Lord that You would indeed bless all those in authority and all those seeking positions of authority. I pray that You would bless them in every way, but most of all that You would bless them with the revelation that Jesus Christ paid the price for their sins, so that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.    Amen