After his customary lengthy introduction, the Apostle Paul begins his instructions to Timothy, his trusted and respected mentee, with an appeal to pray for all people, but in particular for government:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
That is a somewhat odd statement when you remember what kind of government was in power during Paul’s lifetime. It was a brutal autocracy that demanded worship of the Roman emperor from every subject, punishable by death if refused. Paul himself had been imprisoned in Rome, under house arrest and chained to a guard.
Most scholars believe that he was released in AD 62, after the book of Acts ended. He appears to have written his first letter to Timothy during that time while preaching the gospel in Macedonia. Two years later, every Christian leader the Romans could lay their hand on was arrested following the fire of Rome, which then-emperor Nero blamed on the Christians.
The Romans were known for cruel and unjust punishment. They took delight in rounding up Christians and throwing them to hungry lions or fierce gladiators so a bloodthirsty audience could watch them being ripped apart. Or they would crucify them, preferably upside down, at imperial garden parties – the kind of stuff that would throw modern-day human rights groups and “civilized” Western governments into a tizzy.
Why, then, would Paul call upon the Church to pray for people in authority? I think the answer can be found in his view of government in general, which he expressed in Romans 13:1-2, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”
We could have a lengthy debate about why evil and anti-Christian governments are still instituted by God, but the gist of Paul’s thinking is that any authority exists by God’s doing only. He raises governments up and brings them down – all for His plans and purposes, which are usually too big and grand for us to understand. In this age of the New Covenant, the inference is that God uses governments for the advance of the gospel to every tribe and nation. We see a glimpse of that in 1 Timothy 2: This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
We read between the lines here that our prayers for people in authority ultimately relate to God’s desire for all people to be saved and come to know the truth.
The benefit of praying for government is that we may live peaceful, quiet lives in dignity and godliness as subjects.
In other words, we pray for good government that will facilitate the spread of the gospel and the knowledge of God’s truth so that we can enjoy the benefits of peace, dignity, and godliness in our lives.
Given the fact that the majority of the world’s governments are anything but friendly to the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is a lot of praying to be done!
We can be encouraged by seeing the USSR succumb to popular will after decades of concerted prayer. Equally encouraging is the role that intercessory prayer played in the formation of the first Kenyan government after it won independence from Great Britain. The inaugural president was a strong believer and set his country on a course that has facilitated explosive church growth to this day.
Sometimes, we have to pray for God’s restraint on governments hostile to the gospel, like that of China. Iran, and North Korea, where thousands are languishing in prisons and work camps because of their faith in Christ. Or Eritrea, the East African hermit nation that is proud of its atheism and locks Christians up in metal shipping containers under the hot desert sun. In countries like that, we pray for God’s hand to use oppression to spread the gospel.
It is not unreasonable to think that Paul had such prayers in mind when he urged intercession to be made. He knew that peaceful, quiet lives and the salvation of the masses would not occur unless God steered the Roman government from above according to His will. Perhaps that is why the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace), which united large swatches of Europe and Asia Minor and connected them with roads and shipping routes contributed to the initial explosive growth of the Church – despite intense persecution.
What, then, about the U.S. government, especially now with so much turmoil, chaos, rising violence, and dying commerce in most of our major cities? How would Paul have us intercede for that?
We can easily bogged down by praying for specific candidates or policies to succeed which, in our opinion, would improve things. I believe God has bigger things in mind. Since prayer is the primary way He chose for us to involve Him in our lives and our world, intercession calls upon His hand to move at every level of government to facilitate evangelism and church growth. We appeal to His desire to see all people saved so He will steer every government to ensure that happens, and we accept in faith that He does even when things appear to be bad. There are times when suffering and instability help the growth of the Church because it takes away comfort zones. The removal of those comforts exposes human weakness. That may lead unbelievers to realize their need to get right with God so they can draw peace and strength from Him. It may lead believers to make work of their relationship with Him and draw courage and boldness from it.
Paul saw government as God’s invention and on His leash – evil or good. From that vantage point, he urges prayer for gospel-facilitating authorities whether they knowingly do so or not.
In our day and age, prayer for government at the city, county, state, federal, and presidential levels is more urgent than ever. Evil is mounting. Dark clouds are gathering. Satan is busily at work. His princes have staffed the hallowed halls of capitols well. But God has ordained to win mighty victories through the prayers of His people that will lead to the salvation of many. And that is good and pleasing to God!
The saying goes: You snooze, you lose. No prayer, no victories, and, at best, stunted growth of God’s church.
Take a few moments to pray for your government each day this week. And be stunned by the difference that the earnest prayers of even a few hundred believers will make in the spiritual future of our country.