1 Timothy 2:1-7
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.
Urgent: Prayers Needed for Government
Did you watch the Federal Leaders Debate last week? Don’t worry! I’m not going to get into a single point of politics here, but can I ask how it made you feel? Did you walk away from the TV feeling encouraged by our country’s unity and solidarity? Did you spend the rest of the week awed by the camaraderie and cooperation of our government? Do you feel completely confident for our future?
That’s a little unfair. The express purpose of debate is to highlight differences, so, of course there would be tension and drama. To expect a debate to leave you feeling warm and fuzzy may be a bit naïve – even if it would be a nice change of pace.
The point is that this time of year can be difficult for feeling good about the government. There’s mud flying in every direction and it can feel like we are the ones who have to clean up the mess.
So, how did you feel when you heard Paul write to Timothy, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority”[1] (emphasis added)? Was that part of your plan for your Thanksgiving feast later today or tomorrow? When someone asks what you’re thankful for this year, will you reply with a smile, “I am thankful for everyone in authority”? My guess is probably not. And yet, that’s Paul’s urgent appeal to Timothy.
We can get behind the first part without problem, right? We should pray for people. But why does Paul highlight the hierarchy? Why does he single out the leadership as those for whom we should pray? Why should I spend any time, let alone Thanksgiving weekend, praying for people who don’t instill confidence in me - for people who might even oppose the will of God with official policy?
Paul gives two reasons for that kind of prayer. We can find the first reason at the end of his first sentence: “…that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”[2]
For Peaceful and Quiet Lives
Wouldn’t that be nice? Isn’t that the dream – to live in peace and quiet – for life to go our way undisturbed? No conflict with employers or coworkers. Harmony in the neighborhood without drama. Governmental leaders who get along and take care of us. It would make sense to pray for that, because we are the ones who would benefit.
God even surprised the Israelites once with this kind of command to pray. After they had been conquered in battle and carted off into captivity in Babylon, this is what God told them through the prophet Jeremiah, “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”[3]
Imagine how that must have struck them. “Hold on now, God. Are you telling me that not only do you want my enemies to succeed but you want me to want them to succeed? Are you telling me that I’m supposed to pray that my captors prosper?” And God’s answer would be, “Yes. Because if they prosper, you prosper.”
We can pray that our governmental leaders succeed, even if we don’t like their politics. Do you know who Paul’s king was when he wrote to Timothy? It was the Roman Emperor Nero, who is perhaps most famous for his crusade against Christians. It is said that he set fire to the city of Rome and then blamed it on the Christians in order to persecute them with the full support of the people. He killed hundreds of Christians in unspeakable ways and drove thousands more underground, and Paul still says, “I urge you to pray for kings so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives.”
It sounds a bit self-serving at first, doesn’t it? “Pray for the government so that I might benefit.” But it’s more than that. Paul isn’t urging us to pray solely for the sake of living in peace and quietness. He qualifies that peace and quietness by adding, “in all godliness and holiness.”[4] This isn’t peace for Pete’s sake. It’s peace for God’s sake. It’s quiet for the sake of the Gospel. It’s the ability to live as Christians in this world.
Imagine a world where you don’t have to swallow your faith in public for fear that you’d be persecuted. Imagine a world where you are allowed or even invited to share your faith and talk about Jesus openly without awkwardness or anger. That’s the kind of peace and quiet that Paul invites us to pray for – not the solitude of an idyllic cabin in the woods by ourselves, but the ability to live as ourselves in this world without fear.
And so, it makes sense that Paul would single out the government, because those leaders have the single greatest impact on our ability to do that. The legislation, the policies that they pass directly effect your ability to live your faith as a member of this society. They can muzzle you or free you to speak the truth in love. They can handcuff you or enable you to serve your community with the love of Christ.
Your government holds a lot of power over your ability to lead a Christian life in peace and quietness, in godliness and holiness. Praying for them only makes sense, because it’s ultimately to your benefit.
But that’s not the only reason that Paul urges us to pray. Our petitions are not supposed to be so self-centered. After all, this urgent appeal is for us to pray for all people. In other words, we’re supposed to pray for them, for their sake, so that they can benefit, and specifically so that they can benefit from knowing what God wants them to know. After urging this kind of prayer, Paul writes:
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.[5]
to Please God Our Savior
Which would you rather have – the ability to convert 100 Canadians to Christianity each year but still never be able to pass Christian laws, like a ban on abortions, or would you rather have the ability at next week’s election to make sweeping reforms across the nation, enforcing Christian ethics on every Canadian citizen? In other words, every Canadian citizen would have to lead an outwardly Christian life, whether they believed in God or not?
It would be tempting to pick the second one, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t that lead to a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and holiness? Wouldn’t it be so great if publicly everyone expressed agreement, and, even better, agreement to live according to God’s Word? What a world that would be! Like a modern-day Garden of Eden.
That would be wonderful, but that’s not what God says he wants. God our Savior wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.[6] God would trade the obedience of the nations for a handful of hearts that believe, because there is a truth that we don’t often like to consider. There is a reality that we would often rather ignore.
Paul puts it positively in this passage. He talks about God as our Savior, wanting us to be saved, giving us a mediator, but the very fact that God is our Savior means that without him we’d be lost. Without his desire for our salvation, we’d be left to eternal damnation – the everlasting punishment for our sin in hell. And that’s not a threat God makes to the world to scare them straight. It’s the danger for all of us, which is why Paul calls God our Savior.
He also calls Jesus our mediator. There was a gap between us and God, and it had to do with more than just our outward obedience. This was a problem that couldn’t be solved by policy or legislation. The problem is our hearts. We don’t always want what God wants.
In our pursuit of peace and quiet, we can so easily substitute God’s idea of paradise with our own. We can while away our time pining after a life of ease and stability for the 70 or 80 years that we have on this earth and forget that there is an eternity after this. We can selfishly work for our personal good and neglect the needs of others, and holidays like Thanksgiving often show that selfish indulgence.
The bottom line is that whether you go to a soup kitchen today or not, we have all offended our God, if not by our actions (and we’d be fooling ourselves if we thought that way) then at the very least by our thoughts and attitudes – by the resentment and bitterness toward God’s representatives; by the anger and arguments we get into with other people; by the indignation we feel at other people’s behavior, but the apathy and indifference we feel toward their souls.
Before we can pray for kings and governments, we need to know the truth for ourselves. We are sinners deserving God’s righteous punishment, but God is our Savior who wants all people to be saved. God wants you to be saved. Each one of you. That’s why he sent Jesus to give himself as a ransom. Jesus paid the debt we owe. Jesus freed us from our sin, and he didn’t do it with laws or legislation. He didn’t pay the price with gold or silver, but with his own precious blood and innocent suffering and death. When Jesus died on the cross, he saved you from your sin and bridged the gap between all sinners everywhere and our Father in heaven, and he opened the way for us to pray.
Now, because of Jesus, we can be confident that our prayers are heard. The Son of God became the son of woman to walk this earth and live this life just like you. Your Savior took your place on the cross to be your substitute. But he didn’t stop there. He’s now your mediator too. He’s the one who brings your petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving to God. Jesus, who ransomed you with his very life, continues to work on your behalf.
So, use this gift God has given you. As a sinner saved by grace in Jesus, call on his name for all people, but especially for kings and all those in authority. And don’t just pray that they might make your life better; pray for them. Pray that they may come to a knowledge of the truth and so be saved by that truth. Pray that they may come to know Jesus and the ransom he paid for them.
Pray for them, but don’t just pray; herald that truth too. Be the answer to your own prayer. Proclaim what Christ has done for you. Like the trumpeters who would announce the arrival of a king, broadcast the coming of our Savior. He came once before to save us from our sin. He is coming again, to take us out of this world and live with him forever in heaven.
Whatever your Thanksgiving weekend holds for you, whatever prayers of thanks you give – whether you talk about the Federal Leaders Debate or not – remember the ransom of your Savior. Rejoice in the truth of your salvation. Pray that others may come to know that truth too, and pray also for the opportunity and ability to herald it.
God wants all people to be saved. What do you want? Amen.
[1] 1 Timothy 2:1,2
[2] 1 Timothy 2:2
[3] Jeremiah 29:7
[4] 1 Timothy 2:2
[5] 1 Timothy 2:3
[6] 2 Timothy 2:3