About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman

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Praying For Government    

The apostle Paul told Timothy "that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority" (1 Timothy 2:1).  The words "petitions, prayers, and intercessions" suggest serious heart-felt praying.  The reason for these prayers, including prayers for the government, was not to make the government mandate Christian teaching into its laws for people to obey.  It was so "we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness."  A quiet peaceful life would assist the church to live and communicate the gospel of Christ to pagan people in the Roman Empire .  That's the church's job, not the government's job.    

Paul's desired quiet peaceful life was relevant in his day where in parts of the Roman Empire Christians were being persecuted and even executed by the very same government Paul was urging everyone to pray for.  That very same government actually beheaded Paul for being a Christian.  Knowing that, were all of the prayers for the government answered?  I say "yes", that is, unless you consider being fed to lions in a sports stadium, being burned alive, among other such things living a quiet peaceful life.     

When the Roman soldier's sword was about to slice Paul's head from his shoulders, was Paul depressed and angry at God for seemingly unanswered prayers and missing out on that quiet peaceful life?  I don't think so.  Philippians 2:23 and 24 state that he did not fear death.  "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body".  Besides, Paul believed to be "absent from the body was to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).  He was ready to meet Jesus via a Roman sword, which might well have been his most important witness for Jesus that could have led that soldier to Jesus. 

With martyrdom in mind, the church grew at its fastest pace in history during the first three hundred years of its history, and that was when there were ten government-sponsored periods of severe persecution.  That all ended in the fourth century when Christianity became the state-sponsored religion.  It was then that the secular state and the Christian church were aligned.  In one sense of the word, the church handed itself over to the authoritative rule of government, something many in the church seem to want to do today.  

To be clear, Paul did not ask the church to pray for the government to become Christian so it could mandate some form of Biblical law to its citizens.   He prayed for a quiet and peaceful existence so the church, not government, could bring salvation to individuals within the country through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus.  I suggest, then, that we understand what it means to pray for the government, especially as it relates 1 Timothy 2:1.         

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