Pray for Our Leaders
November 23, 2003
1 Timothy 2:1-2
Thanksgiving Sunday
Galena-Warwick United Methodist Charge
Warwick & Galena, Maryland
Rev. Dr. Lawrence D. Jameson
larry@larryjameson.com
back to our church home page
1 Timothy 2:1-2
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that
we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
Scripture tells us that we need to pray for our
leaders.
It doesn’t matter if you like them or not.
I enjoyed our annual family retreat last weekend
at Ocean City, Maryland.
There were 53 at the retreat and we had a great time!
The event was organized by
Wayne & Cheryl Santmyer, Wayne & Debbie Edwards,
and Jennifer Sawyer.
Thank you
Wayne, Cheryl, Wayne, Debbie, and Jenn!
On Saturday night I got to go to the movies
with Greg Long and his sons, Griffin & Austin.
We got to our seats just before the movie started.
I looked around to make sure I wasn’t blocking
anyone’s view
and guess who
was seated all by himself right behind me?
It was the Comptroller of Maryland,
former Governor William Donald Schaefer.
I shook his hand and then I left him alone.
I have some serious differences with that man.
I testified before him about 12 years ago
in Annapolis, Maryland.
I fought against the proposed Keno machines. He was all for them.
He won. I lost.
God wants me to pray for William Donald Schaefer,
and God wants you and me
to pray for our leaders.
It doesn’t matter if we agree with their policies,
or if they are good or bad at their jobs.
God wants us to pray for our leaders.
In 1 Timothy 2:1 the Bible says,
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that
we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
Paul wrote his letter to Timothy in the year 65 A.D.
Do you know who the Emperor of Rome was at that time?
It was Nero Claudius Caesar.
Nero sponsored a persecution of Christians
that has never been surpassed.
“Many were killed by wild animals before crowds of spectators in the arena,
while others were tied to posts, covered with flammable material, and used as
human street lamps for Nero's gardens.”
Paul knew about Nero.
Paul wrote to Timothy and said:
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that
we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
If Paul could pray for Nero,
we can pray for our leaders!
Who are the leaders?
Who are we supposed to pray for?
The answer is
“for everyone”
“all those in authority”.
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that
we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
That means
we are to pray for
the President of the United States of America,
the leaders of the United Nations,
our governor,
the mayor in our town,
the State Police officer on the highway,
our Bishop,
our District Superintendent,
and yes, you need to pray for me.
We pray for everyone who has authority
because they need God’s help to do their job.
How do we pray?
In 1 Timothy 2:1
Paul used four words:
requests,
prayers,
intercession,
and thanksgiving.
I think it’s significant
that Paul used four words
to describe how we pray for leaders.
We need to really dig in and pray.
This isn’t a slap-dash effort.
It’s supposed to be intentional.
The Greek word translated as “requests”
implies simple human needs.
So we ask God to meet the needs of our leaders,
for things like
safety, food, shelter, love,
and the basics of life.
The Greek word translated as “prayers”
implies needs that only God can fill.
So we ask God to meet the needs of our leaders,
for forgiveness, righteousness, wisdom, insight, and kindness.
The Greek word translated as “intercession”
implies that we are acting as a priest
standing in the gap,
coming before God in the place of the one in authority.
When we say an intercessory prayer,
we are asking God to be merciful
to our leaders
because their actions and decisions affect our lives.
The Greek word translated as “thanksgiving”
implies that
we are to say, “Thank you God”
for the leader.
If the leader is good, then giving thanks is easy.
If the leader is bad, then we thank God by faith,
knowing that God is so great
he can take even bad things
and use them to bless us.
That even applies to people like the Emperor Nero.
There is always something for which we can thank God,
even when the leader is despicable.
For instance, you can say,
“Thank you Lord that he is only a man
and some day he has to die and give an account.”
or
“Thank you God that your power is greater than the king.”
That’s how we pray for our leaders.
We pray
requests - asking God to fill basic human needs
prayers - asking God to fill supernatural need
intercession - standing in the gap, serving as a priest
and thanksgiving - by faith
praising God for the good
he will do either through, or in spite of,
a leader.
Why pray?
There is good reason for us to pray.
The verse says,
“that we may live peaceful and quiet lives
in all godliness and holiness.”
Dear ones,
Thursday is Thanksgiving Day
and we have a lot to be grateful for.
We live in a wonderful country
that is filled with freedom and opportunity.
All of that can change
in a moment of time
if we forget to pray for our leaders.
I urge, then, first of all,
that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving
be made for everyone--
for kings and all those in authority,
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives
in all godliness and holiness.
Amen.
PRAYER
Dear God, give guidance and wisdom to the leaders of our country.
Help President George Bush, and make him a man after your own heart. Show the
Congress your mercy, especially Senator Paul Sarbanes , Senator Barbara Mikulski
, and Representative Wayne Gilchrest . Give peace and justice to the United
States of America and to all the people of this world. Through Jesus Christ we
pray. Amen.