Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Pray for All Men (1 Tim. 2:1-2)

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
(1 Timothy 2:1-2, NASB)

We complain—a lot—about our world. The immorality. The lack of caring and compassion. The selfishness.

And even more so, we in the U.S. tend to whine—a lot—about our leadership. The corruption. The poor decisions. The seemingly all-about-me mentality.

I have to wonder. How much is this our fault?

Do we do what we’re called to do? Pray for “all men, for kings and all who are in authority”? I wonder.

In the Old Testament, God made an if-then promise to His people. He said, “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:13-15).

If we experience difficult situations and still humble ourselves, if we pray and seek His face, and if we turn from our wicked ways, then He’ll hear us and forgive us … and He’ll heal our land.

He promises the same thing through the words of Paul. If we pray for “all men, for kings and all who are in authority,” then we’ll “lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

But do we? Do we, as a nation, do any of these? No.

Do we, as Christians? Certainly not like we should. And if we’re not keeping our end of the bargain, why should we expect God to keep His?

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