A Bit of Practical Politics

Read 1 Timothy 2:1–3:16

1. I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.
2. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.
3. This is good and pleases God our Savior,
4. who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
5. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.
6. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.
7. And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth.1 Timothy 2:1-7

More than a million conversations a day trade news about how to win on the stock market. More than 10 million try to predict the outcome of upcoming sports events. How many conversations relate to politics—100 million? More? Too many, most people would say.

Just when you think you have had enough of politics, Paul throws his hat in the ring. But the good news about Paul’s involvement in this arena is that he is not throwing mud but advocating prayer—for leaders. How often do you pray for your elected officials?

In addition to promoting prayer for our political leaders, Paul also discusses the standards we should uphold for church leaders.

Paul urged Timothy to pray for civil authorities so that believers could enjoy peace and freedom, thus enabling them to live for Christ and share the gospel with others. And the reason this matters so much is that God desires all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; see 2 Peter 3:9).

God wants us to take the news of Christ to others, but this won’t happen if chaos and disorder have us occupied. Not everyone will be saved—many refuse to go through Christ’s narrow gate (see Matthew 7:13; 25:31-46; John 12:44-50; Hebrews 10:26-29). But the message about Christ matters so much to God that we should pray and work for the freedom to publish it.

God’s appointed means for keeping the peace resides in the hallowed halls of our civil governments, at every level. Pray often for the leaders and authorities who govern our land.