By Roydon Frost
2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour…
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (ESV)
Anyone who’s ever led anything for more than five minutes, will very quickly have learnt an important lesson: it is a whole lot easier to criticise than it is to actually do something. Franklin D Roosevelt put it like this:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
As South Africans we are world-class critics, and there is no-one we love to criticise more than our public officials – often with just cause, but seldom with the humility that comes from recognising our own limitations as leaders in whatever it is we lead.
It’s with that in mind that I think of our President at this time. What a task! What a burden of responsibility! A whole nation gripped by fear, teetering on the brink of panic, looking for answers, looking for comfort, looking for someone to tell them what to do, and how to feel. It’s too much for any one man to bear, and yet our President must bear it. In my estimation, he is bearing it with great skill and dignity. But my estimation counts for very little. Whatever his performance, whatever our politics, we are called to uphold him in prayer. Just a few comments from 1 Timothy 2.1-2 on what that entails:
Primacy & Urgency
Notice that for the apostle Paul, in a letter on important church matters, praying for our leaders is of first importance. He urges Timothy and his congregation to take it seriously. We will see why…
Scope & Focus
The scope of our prayer is in the first place “for all people” – that is the universal aspect of the call to prayer. As one commentator put it:
“…that prayer is for ‘everyone’ is timely in view of the temptation to confine our prayers to our own narrow interests. The wider the subjects for prayer, the larger becomes the vision of the soul that prays.”
Secondly, it is for “kings and all who are in high positions” – that’s the particular focus of our prayer for all people. And let’s be clear, supplications and intercessions for our leaders are not an opportunity to bring our list of grievances against them (there are call centres and ombudsmen for that). In the first place, we are to pray for their salvation, and then all manner of other prayers for their strengthening and upliftment should follow. That includes thanksgiving! We are to thank God for our leaders, because as a general rule, even bad leadership is better than anarchy. And right now, as I mentioned, I believe we are blessed with good leadership.
Goal
“…that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” – The context is one of our witness to the wider world (vv3-4). Praying for our leaders will help them to govern well, and it will help us to live outstanding lives as citizens, both of which will be a blessing to society and promote the gospel. Or… are we just critics?
Value
The true value in praying for our leaders is that it pleases the God who cares for all people (v3). To experience the joy of his pleasure is motivation enough.
Trust
The mere fact that we pray for our leaders is perfect confirmation that we don’t put our final trust in our leaders – our final trust is in God alone.
Action
Let’s pray for our leaders. Let’s pray for them now and let’s continue to pray for them when this crisis lifts.
Prayer points:
1. Pray for our President. Pray for his heart, his health, his strength and the wisdom he needs to lead us through this difficult season. Pray that God will give him wise counsellors. Thank God for the good work our President has done so far.
2. Pray for all “who are in high positions”- positions of authority. Pray for our government, for doctors, nurses, the army and other essential services. Pray for their salvation. Pray that each individual will exercise good judgement in service of the people, especially the poor and the vulnerable.
3. Pray for those who lead you directly: a husband, a father, a grandmother, a mother, an employer etc. Pray that God will give them what they need to lead well.
4. Pray for yourself as a leader, in whatever sphere. Pray that you will be a humble servant in the hands of God and a blessing to those you lead.