Prayer: A Christian's Duty to Government

Introduction

A girl prayed, “Lord, I am not going to pray for myself today; I’m going to pray for others.” But at the end of her prayer she added, “And give my mother a handsome son-in-law.”

Anonymous

1. The Command to Pray (2:1)

1 Timothy 2:1 NASB95

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,

First and Foremost

“First of all” - Paul writes this Timothy, his understudy (discuss context).

Paul’s words “first of all” indicates that he believes this to be of utmost importance. When the church comes together, one of the most important things she does is pray.

I Implore

Paul, in fact, says that he “urges/implores” that prayers be made.

Prayer includes the idea of “petitions and thanksgiving” (2:1).

When we pray as a church (even personally) our prayers ought to include both. We ought to give thanks to God for what he has provided, what He has done, and who he is.

God has blessed us so much, and we often take so much for granted.

We also are to request, or petition, God for needs in our lives.

Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.”

But note that prayers are made not only on our behalf but “on behalf of all men” (2:1). Prayer, then, is not to be only an inward focus but also an outward focus, for all men.

The Message of 1 Timothy and Titus (a. The Church’s Prayers Should Concern All People (2:1–2))

Some years ago I attended public worship in a certain church. The pastor was absent on holiday, and a lay elder led the pastoral prayer. He prayed that the pastor might enjoy a good vacation (which was fine), and that two lady members of the congregation might be healed (which was also fine; we should pray for the sick). But that was all. The intercession can hardly have lasted thirty seconds. I came away saddened, sensing that this church worshipped a little village god of their own devising. There was no recognition of the needs of the world, and no attempt to embrace the world in prayer. ~John Stott

Praying for ALL can also be tough. This would include people who consistently hurt us, etc.

Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

This can be especially difficult when it’s a government who persecutes.

But this is specifically who we are called to pray for.

2. Pray for Governing Authorities (2:2a)

1 Timothy 2:2a (NASB95)

for kings and all who are in authority . . .

For Kings

Not for “some” kings, but “kings” period.

At the time Paul wrote this, there were no godly kings reigning. And the reining king at the time and place where Paul lived was Roman Emperor Nero.

During Nero’s reign in AD 64, a fire broke out in Rome that completely destroyed 7 of the 14 regions of the city. Nero blamed the Christians as a scapegoat. As punishment, the Roman historian Tacitus of the time said some Christians “were covered with the skins of wild beasts and then torn by dogs, some were crucified, some were burned as torches to light at night.”

[S. Angus and A. M. Renwick, “Nero,” ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 522.]

For All

“ALL in authority”- not just the ones that Timothy liked, but all of them.

Illustration

The Message of 1 Timothy and Titus (a. The Church’s Prayers Should Concern All People (2:1–2))

I sometimes wonder whether the comparatively slow progress towards peace and justice in the world, and towards world evangelization, is due more than anything else to the prayerlessness of the people of God. ~John Stott

Clement of Alexandria in his first letter:

Chapter 61. Prayer Continued — For Rulers and Governors. Conclusion.

“To our rulers and governors on the earth — to them You, Lord, gave the power of the kingdom by Your glorious and ineffable might, to the end that we may know the glory and honour given to them by You and be subject to them, in nought resisting Your will; to them, Lord, give health, peace, concord, stability, that they may exercise the authority given to them without offense. For You, O heavenly Lord and King eternal, givest to the sons of men glory and honour and power over the things that are on the earth; do Thou, Lord, direct their counsel according to that which is good and well-pleasing in Your sight, that, devoutly in peace and meekness exercising the power given them by You, they may find You propitious.” [https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm]

Application

We need to pray for kings and all in government

Means we will be praying for Republicans and Democrats; Socialists and Communists. I.e., people we do not respect, support, or like.

Means we may be praying for governing authorities who persecute Christians.

3. Why We Pray for Governing Authorities (2:2b-4)

1 Timothy 2:2b–4 (NASB95)

. . . so 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.

To Live Tranquil and Quiet Lives

We pray for them so that we may be able to live in peace. Freedom from war and civil strife.

Paul himself had been the beneficiary of such tranquility when he was in Ephesus itself. In Acts 19, a riot began to form in response to Paul’s preaching, and the mob wanted to kill him. But the town clerk stepped in and squashed the civil unrest, thereby protecting Paul. [See Stott’s commentary]

The motivation for praying for peace: to live with godliness (worship) and with dignity (moral, holiness).

But we do not pray for peace simply for these reasons, but also to spread the Gospel.

To Spread the Gospel

We also pray for peace so that the church may fulfill unhindered its commission given to her by Christ: to evangelize the lost. This is implied by verse 4, which states that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Peace provides a good environment for the gospel to spread.

The Message of 1 Timothy and Titus (a. The Church’s Prayers Should Concern All People (2:1–2))

The ultimate object of our prayers for national leaders, then, is that in the context of the peace they preserve, religion and morality can flourish, and evangelism go forward without interruption ~John Stott

This comes together to show us yet again (as we saw last week) the biblical teaching about church and government: “It is the duty of the state to keep the peace, to protect its citizens from whatever would disturb it, to preserve law and order . . . and to punish evil and promote good (as Paul teaches in Rom. 13:4), so that within such a stable society the church may be free to worship God, obey his laws and spread his gospel.” [John R. W. Stott, Guard the Truth: The Message of 1 Timothy & Titus, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 63.]

And it is the church’s role to pray for the government even to act as its moral conscience, spread the gospel, and spread love, compassion, mercy, and grace. We must keep the two roles distinct.

Illustration

Thankfully, America was founded upon this as one of its principles: the freedom of religion, or the church to worship and go about its business without the interference of the government.

First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .”

Also the idea behind “The separation of church and state” = Although not stated this way in the Constitution, it is the meaning behind “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” I.e., the US government is not to ever codify in law a national religion. In short, the US government is not to be about “churchy things,” i.e., performing the role of the church. The US gov’t is to leave the church alone to freely worship God and spread the Gospel. And the church does not perform the role of gov’t by meting out justice and punishment upon evildoers. There is a separation between the church and its role and the government and its role.

Application

We need to pray for our governing authorities so they will:

Understand their proper role to keep peace, protects its citizens, and punish evil and promote good. Pray that God will also raise up politicians to do fulfill this role.

Allow the church to freely worship God, obey his laws, and to spread the Gospel. Pray esp for the conversion of governing authorities.

We need to be in prayer at this time in our presidential cycle for wisdom to vote for the candidates who best understand what their God-given role is. Sometimes we hear that we need more Christians in government and that we ought to vote for Christians no matter what. But this may not be the wisest thing to do. Some Christians who are in politics do not understand correctly the God-given role of government. They may be the best moral person, but they may also think that government’s primary role is to be compassionate and provide material wealth to all, or to allow criminals to go free, or allow riots to continually engulf our cities.

On the other hand, it may be the wisest thing to vote for a less moral person because he or she at least understands the proper role of government.

Conclusion

The church’s relation to government is very important. But more important than this is one’s relationship with Jesus.