A Prayerful People in a Partisan World

One of the greatest threats to a regular prayer life is anger. We are living in angry times. We must careful that our anger not ruin our prayer lives.

It is a great challenge for us as Christians to remember the importance of prayer when a partisan world.

Now I don’t presume to know what is going to happen from this point. Lawsuits are being filed. Concerns are being raised.

Most of us would agree with Augustine:

Government is a necessary evil. A corrupt government is better than no government.

According to Romans 13, we should acknowledge that God has ordained government to be an instrument to restrain the evil intent of the heart of humanity.

When we put the political over the biblical we have created an idol. When we seek more identification around a political platform than we do over a theological identity, we have committed ourselves to something other than the Bride of Christ.

When we separate from a brother or sister over a political agenda we have broken 1 John. We have claimed to walk in the light, and yet we have hated our brother or sister.

Only through the eyes of the Holy Spirit can we understand that God is the one who sets imperfect people to rule upon the thrones of human government.

The responsibility of the Christian is to be Christ-centered no matter the circumstances of our lives.

The purpose for this section in Paul’s letter to Timothy and the church that he is pastoring is found in 1 Timothy 3:14-15:

1 Timothy 3:14–15 CSB

I write these things to you, hoping to come to you soon. But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

So our personal conduct is connected to the purpose and stability of the Church.

The Regular Practice of Prayer includes the President (1-2)

1 Timothy 2:1–2 CSB

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

History is—in many ways—the struggle between the Church and the Government. We look in the New Testament and it is the Government that gives fits to the Church.

We look in the first couple of centuries and it is the Government that put the disciple of Christ to death.

We look at the rise of the Roman Catholic Church under Constantine and the Government’s requirements of a Christian Kingdom led to the corruption of the Church.

During the Reformation, it was the Government and the Church being wed that corrupted the purity of the Church.

Today, it may be the Church wedding themselves to the Government that leads to the loss of the Church.

We are to pray. We are to pray because of the Church. Notice, first, *how* we are to pray. Second, for *whom* we are to pray. And third, for *what* we are to pray.

How we are to pray

Petitions — for God to meet specific needs.

Prayers — general word for talking to God.

Intercessions — earnest, urgent, and bold requests for God to act on behalf of others.

Thanksgivings — the truly prayerful person recognizes that we can always give thanks because God always meets our needs. God is always going to do the right thing. So, even if God says “No,” we can give thanks because what God does is always right and is always best. The last two terms—Intercessions and Thanksgiving go hand-in-hand.

When petition is grounded in thanksgiving, God and not self-interest becomes the focus. On the other hand, thanksgiving without petition proclaims God to be the Creator without trusting that he indeed is one who is able to provide for His people.

(Pao, Thanksgiving: An Investigation of a Pauline Theme, NSBT, 36-37).

For whom we are to pray

The Bible says that we are to pray for kings. The current king during the time of this writing was Nero. Nero was a cruel king. Indeed, he was one of the most demented individuals every to place his feet upon God’s globe.

And yet it was the basic Christian expectation that believers would pray for him. Peter also writes that we are to honor the king:

1 Peter 2:13–17 CSB

Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves. Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

For what we are to pray

We are to pray that the church may be able to lead a quiet and tranquil life. Quiet and tranquil doesn’t mean “Let us sit over here in our corner and we will leave you alone if you will leave us alone.”

It means that we are able to worship God in the way that our conscience bears witness according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and the truth of the Word of God.

It is religious liberty. “We will uplift you. We will pray for you. We will honor. But do not ask us to do something that will break our conscience or lead us to reject God’s word.

We pray for the President because It Pleases God (3-4)

1 Timothy 2:3–4 CSB

This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Prayer in general—and prayer for the governing authorities in particular—pleases God. It pleases God because God’s desire is for all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We pray for the President because of the Superiority of the Gospel (5-7)

The Integrity of the Gospel

1 Timothy 2:5–6 CSB

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

The Proclamation of the Gospel

1 Timothy 2:7–8 CSB

For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.

The Power of the Gospel

1 Timothy 2:8 CSB

Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.

in every place

lifting up hands

holy hands

without anger or argument

Conclusion

The most unifying concept is a common purpose. A common goal.

What is our goal? It is the sharing and spreading of the Gospel.

We are to be a Gospel-centered people. Certainly, we should seek to better our nation. We should work to have a safer nation. We should work to have a more prosperous nation.

But above all else, we should work to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.