PRAYING FOR THOSE IN AUTHORITY
By Mark Ivey
What does the Bible mean when it tells us to pray for those in authority ? 1 Timothy 2 says ,
“ I urge you , first of all , to pray for all people . Ask God to help them ; intercede on their behalf and give thanks for them . Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity . This is good and pleases God our Savior , who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth .”
It is interesting that Paul would write these words when wicked , evil , Roman leaders were in power – especially when Nero would be the one to execute the apostle . Let ’ s understand , then , what the Lord really wants us to do :
God understood if His people would pray , they could direct the course of decisions that would be made . We must grasp this because a lack of consistent prayer for leaders can contribute to the confusion in a nation , and being the “ middle person ” in prayer can eventually lead to peaceful and quiet lives for those who live godly . A nation in turmoil may be an indictment of a prayerless church more than the actions of lawless people .
2 . PRAY FOR SALVATION . Notice the ultimate goal of prayer is for the salvation of these leaders . No one wants someone to lose their soul for eternity as it is God ’ s will for every governmental leader to come to Christ . We don ’ t just pray for blessing ; we pray for an encounter with Jesus .
1 . PRAY . That should not be a mystery to anyone . What does confuse people sometimes is that God was not concerned with evil governments who might rule over God ’ s people because
3 . PRAY FOR COURAGE AND CONVICTION . The fact that God wants all men to be saved means that at times we must call out their sin and
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