Pray!

1 Timothy 2:1-2 - Pray!

So we are to pray. That’s what Paul told us in v. 1: pray for everybody with all kinds of prayers (see previous post.) I don’t know that I would say that Paul covered every type of prayer in v. 1, but if we as Christians practiced these four types of prayers, we would see a powerful work of God in our lives, our families, our churches, and our world! We talk about prayer way more than we pray, and that is our problem. Perhaps it was Timothy’s problem, too, because Paul laid out a great plan for him to follow! Look at what he did. Pray in these four ways for all men, kings, and all who are in authority. So Paul answered the question, “For whom are we to pray?” Everybody! No one should be beyond the prayers of God’s people: family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, the waitress at the restaurant, etc. Everyone needs prayer! Lost people, saved people, atheists, and agnostics need prayer. Gay people, straight people, all need prayer. But especially, Paul said, kings and those in positions of authority. We need to pray for our leaders, and that includes our bosses and our spiritual leaders. At this particular time in our world, it definitely means that we should pray for our political leaders because they need the wisdom of God to be able to carry out the duties of their offices.

Some of you might say, “I’m not going to pray for my leader. He is the worst we’ve ever had. He’s evil. He’s incompetent. He’s… whatever you might add to that sentence.” But I want you to understand something. When Paul wrote these words, Nero was the Emperor of Rome. He was a wicked man who had his mother and brothers executed to secure his throne. He was afraid they were going to take it away from them, so he had them put to death. This was the man who dipped the bodies of Christians in hot wax and set them on fire, using the light to illuminate his dinner parties. And Paul said, “Pray for him.” Wow! You think your leaders are bad!

Even when we do not agree with the policies or practices of our leaders, we should still pray for them. Maybe even because we believe they are evil, we should pray for them even more. There are two reasons that I say this: God will either work in the hearts of the leaders to change them, or if perhaps you are in the wrong, He will change you. He can overrule a wicked heart – even ours – if we let Him.