Praying for Others
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· 3 viewsThe Church is called to pray for those in Authority over us. This pleases God and is what will help us live a peaceful and godly life.
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I was standing outside the Post Office in a small community, (Not Stanchfield) having a conversation with another believer who clearly had some “Political Prejudice.” In many ways I’m sure we have all had similar conversation, which can bring to light our own political prejudice. As much as I would like to say that we don’t have any such political prejudice, i’m afraid that would not be true.
I’ve been quite surprise to discover some individual’s Political Preferences, forcing me to come to terms with how I might respond to others of different Political views.
So this morning we are going to talk about what it means to pray for others - in particular, those who are leaders and in authority over us, even when we have different political preferences.
Before we move into this, let me push the pause button for a moment to reflect upon this past Monday, Veteran’s Day.
It was said more than once we owe our freedom to those men and women who have fought so valiantly so that we could live in freedom and do the things we do. Free speech, Freedom of Religion. The right to vote. For this we can be extremely grateful.
We know that any acting President of the United States is also known as “The Commander and Chief” of our armed forces. They have great power when it comes to sending our nation into war or making policy or eliminating policy.
Not all wars or policies are popular… in fact, most if not all would be something that most people would like to avoid war and conflict. But when it happens, it is the result of various circumstances and facts that have been gathered, hopefully in a proper way with wisdom and understanding.
Having said this, we want to look at and see what our roll and responsibilities are in regard to those who are in leadership and have the power and authority to act in ways that we may or may not agree upon.
Listen to what Paul writes to Timothy…
1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—
2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.
That’s quite a statement… “to Pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.” Yet that is what believers in Christ Jesus are to do!
The New International Version 1 Timothy
As Paul neared the end of his life, he chose young men such as Timothy to carry on his work. His two letters to Timothy form a leadership manual for the young pastor, giving Timothy instructions for leading the church and warning him of false teachers. Paul also provided Timothy with personal instructions on how to be a man of God.
The New International Version 1 Timothy
As Paul neared the end of his life, he chose young men such as Timothy to carry on his work. His two letters to Timothy form a leadership manual for the young pastor, giving Timothy instructions for leading the church and warning him of false teachers. Paul also provided Timothy with personal instructions on how to be a man of God.
In Chapter 2 Paul gives instruction for public worship. He begins with a sense of “Urgency.” The most essential part is that of Prayer… Here he uses four different nouns for prayer...
Petitions = which carries with it to pray for a desire or need.
Prayer = which is used often for private as well as in public. Making personal requests known to God
Thirdly, he uses the word ‘Intercession’ which suggest a conversation with God.
The fourth term used is Thanksgiving , which comes from the Greek word “Eucharista” from which we get “Eucharist” or better known to us as “The Lord’s Supper.” It is always a time of Thanksgiving, remembering the past.
Thanking God for what he has done in the past, strengthen our faith for what he will do in the future.
So for Paul, there is a great sense of urgency for young Timothy and other believers to pray!
For Whom? Kings and all those in authority. In Paul reminds us of the fact that “God” is in control and whatever authority that is in place is a result of Him establishing it.
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
We must remember that at the time of Paul writing this letter, the Roman Emperor was the cruel monster Nero - who later put Paul and Peter to death. What Paul is telling us is that no matter how unreasonable our present leaders may seem to be, we are to pray for them.
My earliest recollection of political events came at the time of President Kennedy’s assassination. I was in 3rd grade and I remember the response of our teacher and everyone else. It was a very somber moment. Even though I didn’t fully understand it, I knew it was a significant event. My first real great disappointment came when President Nixon resigned because of the watergate scandal. I remember hearing excerpts from some of the tapes and the language that was use. There was great dissatisfaction in a person whom I thought to be above reproach.
We all live in some Nievite. We have great hopes from our political candidates only to discover something that would bring us great disappointment. So much so that when we come to elections, we sometimes ask ourselves which of the lesser evil do we vote for. Not a very flattery statement and we wish it were not true, but it does seem to come down to asking the question, “Which is the most reliable, honest, capable, and viable person.”
Before I go any further let me says this: “
Except for the ‘Grace of God’ so would I be. In other words, If you or I were in such a position of authority or leadership, we may say now what we think we would be like, but the influence of those around us can change us. Doesn’t have to but it can.
So What i’m saying is that we must all be careful of our response to Political situations and the greatest thing we can do for one another; for our nation; for our government is to pray for one another.
Throughout the years the church has designated specific times of the year to pray for our government such as election time or on the national day of prayer. All of these are good. However, Paul is writing to Timothy; God’s word is saying to us, “Pray for Kings and all those in Authority.” not just some of the time, but regularly.
So what should we pray for?
Godly and Holy lives
I believe we have spiritual, moral, and ethical reason for praying for “One Another.”
Two weeks ago we talked about asking God for his blessing; for his favor to be upon us. We also talked about God keeping his hand upon us so that we will not be led into temptation or caused harm.
We all need God’s hand to be upon us… If we are in leadership, we need Godly wisdom. In fact we are encouraged to seek for wisdom.
In
11 God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king,
In
11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Salvation for leaders
Salvation for leaders
Salvation for leaders - In verse 4 Paul makes it clear that God wants all people to be saved.
In
knowledge of truth
23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
When Paul first came on the scene in the Book of Acts, he was dead set against Jesus and any who would follow him. He was present at the stoning of Stephen, one of the first deacons of the church.
When he met Jesus on the Road to Damascus, on his way to persecute Followers of Jesus, his life was transformed.
In we read how Paul Labored and strove to proclaim salvation to all people.
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Here in our text he says, “Pray for those in Authority...” because “God our savior wants all to be saved...”
23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
knowledge of truth
Knowledge is to acquire information about something and determine if it is so.
When Pilot was asked to judge Jesus and crucify him, he asked for proof; for facts and found none that substantiated his crucifixion. He is known for asking the question, “What is truth?” Truth is factual. It is something that is substantiated! Any person in leadership is to seek knowledge and to know the truth.
Jesus clearly tells us that he is the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the father but by him.
In order for us to believe this as true, we must accept God for who he says he is and what he says about the Bible. If we do, then we will know the truth. To reveal himself and truth, he sent Jesus. He is the litmus test for truth belief. If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart you will be saved.”
So as we pray for ‘Those over us’ as well as for ‘One another’ it is imperative that truth be made known.
When truth in known and accepted it will set you free… at least that’s what God says.
We know for who we are to pray… we know what we are to pray for … Then Pauls tells us why we are to prayer...
“That we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and honesty.”
Right now we have the privilege to assemble peaceably for public worship, which is dependent on our rights under law - law that is upheld and enforced by our government.
The Greek Adjective translated “Peaceful” occurs only here in the NT. It means “Quiet, tranquil.” The basic idea is that of “restfulness unmarred by disturbance.” (Vine, p. 34) Then Paul uses the word “Quiet” which suggest stillness that is accompanied by restfulness, in contrast to nosy commotion and bustling activity.
Right now I would say that our world is anything but peaceful. On a political scale, we have the noise of an impeachment process going on. Much of this has to do with “Ethical” issues. Honesty and integrity.
As a Nation, we are spiraling out of control morally.
STATISTICS: Over the last 50 years the divorce rate has dropped by 18% which is good new. One of the reasons for that is Millennials are waiting longer before they get married; better education, financially more stable. However, At the same time, even though divorces are declining, marriages are also declining, but cohabitation is rising.
Morally speaking there seems to be less and less respect or acknowledgement of God’s standard for Marriage.
ethically speaking
A study done in June 2002 revealed that 60% of people lied at least once in a 10 minute conversation. The researches said it was a very surprising result. Those who agreed to be part of the study (told a 10 minute conversation was to take place) were asked to do three things...
Some were asked to make themselves ‘Likable’ Some to appear ‘Competent’ and a 3rd group not to present themself in any way without direction.
They were videoed without knowing it. Then asked if they would watch the video and be perfectly honest as to what they said was true or not. They had no knowledge of the taping or why, but agreed afterwords to let their results be known.
Participants were unaware that the session was being videotaped through a hidden camera. At the end of the session, participants were told they had been videotaped and consent was obtained to use the video-recordings for research.
The students were then asked to watch the video of themselves and identify any inaccuracies in what they had said during the conversation. They were encouraged to identify all lies, no matter how big or small.
The students who participated in the study were surprised at their own results. "When they were watching themselves on videotape, people found themselves lying much more than they thought they had,"
Psychologist Robert S. Feldman
Spiritually speaking...
August 2018
In recent years, the percentage of U.S. adults who say they regularly attend religious services has been declining, while the share of Americans who attend only a few times a year, seldom or never has been growing. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that the main reason people regularly go to church, synagogue, mosque or another house of worship is an obvious one: to feel closer to God. But the things that keep people away from religious services are more complicated.
Among those who attend no more than a few times a year, about three-in-ten say they do not go to religious services for a simple reason: They are not believers. But a much larger share stay away not because of a lack of faith, but for other reasons. This includes many people who say one very important reason they don’t regularly attend church is that they practice their faith in other ways. Others cite things they dislike about particular congregations or religious services (for example, they haven’t found a church or house of worship they like, or they don’t like the sermons). Still others name logistical reasons, like being in poor health or not having the time to go, as very important reasons for not regularly attending religious services.
Paul wrote as one who was once apposed to Jesus and then came to know Jesus in a personal way. He was chosen by God to go to the Gentile, non-Jewish people, and proclaim the good news of Jesus. At the time there were many false teaching, people were being led astray.
Psychologist Robert S. Feldman
Paul came as one claiming to tell the truth. Paul zealously lived out his faith for others to know the truth and he died because of his faith, knowing that not all people would agree with what happened to him and how he had changed. But the change on the Damascus road, where he turned from being a persecutor of Christ to a proclaimer of Christ, became evident to those He spoke to and wrote too through the power of God himself and the Holy Spirit.
So, when we talk about praying for One another, we all need God, whether we know it or not. We all need a savior, whether we know it or not. Our leaders need Jesus just as much as we do. And as believers we are called to pray for Salvation and the knowledge of truth for all people so they may truly know the Lord God Almighty.
So how do we do this? Have a conversation with God daily. Tell him your thoughts about the leaders over you. Ask him for his will to be done in their lives. Pray that they would have godly wisdom and discernment and live a godly and holy life. Make it evident to them their need for a savior and then make it evident that they have received your gift of salvation by the way they live life and how they speak.
1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 4529 “Washington Will Succeed!”
4529 “Washington Will Succeed!”
You may read in your United States history how George Washington found rest and relief in prayer during the trying times he and his soldiers passed through at Valley Forge. With all the cares and anxieties of that time upon him, he used to have recourse to prayer. One day a farmer approaching the camp heard an earnest voice. On coming nearer, he saw George Washington on his knees, his cheeks wet with tears, praying to God.
The farmer returned home and said to his wife: “George Washington will succeed! George Washington will succeed! The Americans will secure their independence!”
“What makes you think so, Isaac?” asked his wife.
The farmer replied: “I heard him pray, Hannah, out in the woods today, and the Lord will surely hear his prayer. He will, Hannah; thee may rest assured He will.”
—Sunday School Times
Our political scene is toxic. We need to be in prayer for our leaders; for one another; that our hearts would be one with God, our thoughts and desires. We need to do our part by seeking God’s wisdom and discernment, that we would live a Godly and holy life; a life filled with love for one another. This is done through prayer.