Romans 13:1-5, 1 Timothy 2:1-4
Praying for Politicians
NASA recently reported it has received a record high number of 18,000 applications for its astronaut training program. NASA said it shows a growing interest in space exploration. Then people said, "Nah, we just wanna get off the planet before this election” (Jimmy Fallon). This year’s presidential election has been absolutely crazy. We have two candidates who are both large on personality, to say the least. Sometimes we may find ourselves so bitterly opposed to one candidate, and sometimes so frustrated with our own candidate. We may think our vote doesn’t matter. Yet, God’s word calls us to action when it comes to politicians and the government. We are called to do three specific things. First, God says to...
1. Obey the law. The verses that we read responsively from Romans chapter 13 tell us to be “subject to the governing authorities,” explaining, “There is no authority except that which God has established.” And then, in case we missed it, Paul says again, “The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1). Thus he concludes, if you rebel against authority, you are rebelling against God.
Christians of all people should be law-abiding citizens. We should give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, as Jesus taught (Matthew 22:21). One pastor quipped, “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and not a penny more!” We should pay our taxes, as the rest of Romans 13 tells us (Romans 13:6-7). We should not speed. (I’m still working on that one.) We should view our government workers as ministers, as the British government calls them. They are doing God’s work, whether they realize it or not.
Do they always get it right? Of course not. Politicians are sinners. Government bureaucracies are full of sinners, which means they are full of sin. Anywhere you have fallen humans you have sin, even in the church. Yet, God tells us to obey our leaders as long as it doesn’t conflict with our obedience of God.
Think about Paul’s setting here. He lived during the reign of Nero, a Roman emperor known for his tyranny. Nero murdered his own mother, possibly his brother-in-law, and countless Christian believers. You can imagine how new Christians might think themselves above the law with such an evil person in charge. Yet Paul still told the people to obey their government authorities when it did not directly conflict with obeying God.
We don’t see the big picture. We don’t know what God is up to behind the scenes. In the Old Testament, God worked through evil nations such as the Assyrians and Babylonians to bring Israel to her knees. God worked through Persia to bring further conviction. In Isaiah 45:1 God calls the Persian King “God’s anointed,” the same word for “Messiah.” Even during captivity under a pagan nation, God was still at work behind the scenes to bring about his master plan. God is still at work in our nation and world today, even when we don’t see it.
Obey the law, submit to the government authorities over you. When they get it right and when they don’t, in either case, do the next thing, and that is to...
2. Pray for your leaders. In 1 Timothy 2 Paul says to pray for everyone, but then he specifically mentions “kings and those in authority.” Pray for the mayor, pray for your state and national Congressional leaders, pray for your governor, pray for your judges, local, state, and national. Pray for your president, whether you voted for him or not. Pray for the members of Cabinet. Pray for your pastor. Pray for the Blue Skies CEO, the Board of Directors, the Ambassadors, and especially the Food Selection Committee! (What a tough job!) Pray for your church board members. Pray for everyone you can think of, and particularly those in authority.
How do you pray? Paul mentions four ways: first, petitions, or asking for things; second, intercession, or asking for people, praying specifically for the needs of other people; third, thanksgiving; and fourth, prayers, which includes everything else. So you can pray for everyone, either a prayer of thanksgiving or a prayer of petition, “Help them, Lord!” It reminds me of the sage advice an African American preacher once gave me. You know how the people in an African American church get into the sermon? And they get into the prayers? It’s very active, audience participatory worship. Well, this pastor said it’s all well and good, but to take special note if you hear, during your sermon, “Help him, Lord! Help him, Lord!” You know you’re in trouble then.
What happens when you pray for leaders? 1 Timothy 2:2 tells us that we then get to “live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” Things go smoother for us. We are blessed, because God answers our prayers and helps our leaders to lead better.
I haven’t always agreed with our President. Sometimes he makes me angry. Sometimes I like what he has done. But I try to pray for him regularly. Have you ever noticed how much that office ages people, regardless of party? They come in with dark hair and leave with gray! Every president has pleased me at times and disappointed me at times, whether Republican or Democrat. And whether they’re pleasing or upsetting me, I can pray for them.
So obey the law, pray for your leaders, and #3, above all else...
3. Honor God. God is our ultimate leader from whom all other authority flows. When we become a Christian believer, we yield ourselves to God’s authority above all else. The Bible uses the image of slavery: before we were a believer, we were enslaved to our sin, but now we are voluntarily enslaved to God. We have trusted ourselves fully to the one who knows us better than we know ourselves.
At times throughout history, God’s authority has clashed with human authority. It certainly happened in Paul’s day. Acts 5:27-29 records how some of the apostles were hauled in before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious council, and chewed out for continuing to preach about the risen Christ. Their answer was simple. “We must obey God rather than man!” If you have to choose between the two, go with God. He is your ultimate authority.
An Old Testament example of this is Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to bow down to idols, wanting to reserve worship only for the one true God. As they were about to receive their capital punishment, they respectfully told the king, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). They were quite respectful, but their response still ticked off the king so much that he heated the furnace extra hot. And through it all, God supernaturally saved them from the heat.
If you ever have to choose God over government, do it with much prayer and humility. Our pride can easily get in the way and deceive us into thinking we are God’s lone spokesperson to condemn too quickly an imperfect government. Martin Luther King, Jr. modeled choosing God over government humbly with his policy of non-violent resistance. He called it a “courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love.” And in so doing, he helped change a sinful government which led to a better world. We still have a long way to go, but we have improved greatly from the ‘60s.
To recap, God’s word tells us to obey the law, to pray for our leaders, and above all to honor God. Let me close today with another Apostle’s words on the subject. Listen to the elderly Apostle Peter’s advice, found in 1 Peter 2:13-17:
13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
Let us pray: Thank you, God, that you have allowed us to be part of the American experiment, this land of opportunity. Thank you for a nation based on freedom. We pray that we can keep it. We know we need your help. Help us, Lord, to take your word seriously as we seek to obey the law as model citizens, as we lift up our government leaders to you in prayer, and as we seek to honor you in all things. Help us to completely trust our lives to you. You are a great God. We love you. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
A Prayer for Our Leaders. By Patricia Nordman
Holy Spirit, we come before you this day in humility and gratitude to plead for your blessings upon those who govern to insure our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Grant them in abundance your gifts of:
WISDOM: that they may always be guided to place the spiritual good of communities and the nation as the highest good.
UNDERSTANDING: that they may recognize the simplicity of truth.
COUNSEL: that they may recognize the will of God under circumstances that discourage lesser men and women.
FORTITUDE: that they may be given the spiritual and physical strength to accept the inevitable burdens of leadership with courageous endurance.
KNOWLEDGE: that they may know the vastness of their mission and yet retain humility of spirit and charity for each and every soul.
PIETY: that in the manifold duties of their offices they may always find time to communicate quietly with YOU and therein find peace for their souls.
FEAR OF THE LORD: that they would forego worldly honors and recognition rather than bow to the will of evil men.
May you bless and direct our leaders for as long as it is your will for them to guide the destiny of this community, the nation, and the world.
LORD, we thank you that you hear our prayer. Please remind us, too, that you are still in control! Amen.
