PRAYING FOR OUR PRESIDENT, Message for January 18, 2009

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (Pew Bible, 798)
Date Preached: January 18, 2009 by Joe Alain at Hebron Baptist Church, Denham Springs, LA
Facing a nation divided, teetering toward civil war, President Abraham Lincoln used his first inaugural address to call for unity, arguing that our Constitution was created “to form a more perfect union.” Now, 147 years later, President-elect Barack Obama is echoing President Lincoln’s call in words and symbolism. Tuesday at approximately, 11:30, Barack Obama will be placing his hand upon the same burgundy velvet-bound Bible that was used by President Lincoln at his first inauguration as he is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

Presidents have differed greatly on the question of which passage the Bible should be opened to during the swearing-in ceremony. It brings up the question of what – if any – biblical passage Obama will emphasize. Today, we open our Bibles to a passage of Scripture found at 1 Timothy 2:1-4. Here, the Bible encourages us as Christians to pray and to pray especially for “all who are in authority.” We are to pray for our leaders. We might find it easier to criticize our leaders, that’s probably why God gives us several words of instruction on praying for them. But how do we pray for our soon-to-be new president? How do we pray for others who have been elected to lead us? What should we pray about? This Scripture in 1 Timothy describes the why, the who, and the what of our praying for our president and other leaders.

I. Reasons We Need to Pray (2:1)
Pray Because of . . .
1. Our Inability to Deal with Life on Our Own
The fundamental idea of the word “Supplications” (“deesis” in the biblical language) is a sense of need. It is also translated as “request.” No one will make a “request” unless a sense of need has already awakened a desire. Prayer begins with a sense of need. It begins with the conviction that we cannot deal with all that life throws us. We are not capable of handling all of life’s problems. We need to pray because some things are beyond are ability to handle.

Pray Because of . . .
2. God’s Ability to Meet Our Deepest Needs
This word “Prayers” (“proseuche” in the biblical language) can also be translated as “request,” but there is one major difference. This word is only used of requesting something from God, never of requesting certain things from others. Why is that important? Because it tells us that prayer is our voicing requests to God that only He can meet. There are some needs that only God can satisfy. This is why we pray!

Pray Because of . . .
3. The Nature of Our Relationship with God
The word “intercessions” (“enteuxis” in the biblical language) translates the word “petition.” The word originally meant to “fall in” with a person, or “to hold intimate conversation with a person.” Later it came to have a special meaning, “to enter into a king’s presence and to submit a petition to him.” In the ancient world, you did not barge into the king’s presence unless you were invited, and only then, you came with fear and trembling. But notice how different coming into the presence of our Lord is. We come into His presence, but we do not come cowering in fear. We come because we have been invited, we have an open invitation, and we come to have an intimate conversation with our Lord who delights in our coming.

Pray Because of . . .
4. Our Natural Tendency to Be Prideful
The phrase, “Giving of thanks” (“eucharista” in the biblical language) translates “thanksgiving.” Prayer is not only asking, it is thanking God for His blessings. We need to pray because of our propensity to be prideful. Prayer, especially the “giving of thanks” keeps us humble before God. Being thankful reminds us that God is the one who blesses us. We are not self-made people, God is the source of our blessings. Gratitude keeps our heart in check.

We need to pray ourselves and we especially need to pray for others. This passage gives direction to the people that need
our prayers.
II. Praying for Our Leaders (2:2-4)
1. The Prayer Practices of the Early Church
William Barclay writes about the prayer practices of the early church. “It is extraordinary to trace how all through its early days, those days of bitter persecution, the Church regarded it as an absolute duty to pray for the Emperor and his subordinate kings and governors. ‘Fear God,’ said Peter. ‘Honour the Emperor’ (1 Peter 2:17), and we must remember that that Emperor was none other than Nero, that monster of cruelty. Tertullian insists that for the Emperor the Christian pray for ‘long life, secure dominion, a safe home, a faithful senate, a righteous people, and a world at peace.’ . . . The greatest of all prayers for the Emperor is in Clement of Rome’s first letter to the Church at Corinth which was written about A.D. 90 when the savagery of Domitian was still fresh in men’s minds.”

2. The Belief that God Uses Rulers to Accomplish His Purposes (see Dan. 4:30, 34-35)
We pray for our leaders because God uses rulers to accomplish His purposes whether they believe in Him or not. In the OT we find many instances where God used pagan kings to accomplish His will. Proverbs 19:21, NIV states, “Many are the plans in a man’s [a president’s] heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails”

Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes” The truth is, God is able to fulfill His purposes even through non-Christian rulers. God is able to work through leaders to bring about good whether they even acknowledge His working or not. Paul seems to have this thought in mind when he writes 1 Timothy 2: “If you want your prayers to do the most good for the greatest number of people, be sure to include in your prayers those persons whose decisions create the conditions in which the purposes of the Gospel prosper.” It is important to pray for our leaders because the conditions they create either advance or impede the gospel.”

And what do we pray for when we pray for our leaders? Some specifics are mentioned in verses 2-4.
3. A Prayer for Peace and Godliness to Prevail (v.2)

4. A Prayer for the Advancement of the Gospel (vv.3-4)
We are not just praying for peace, we are praying for the advancement of the kingdom. God approves of our prayers for peace and tranquility because he approves of the advance of the Gospel. Peace is not the main thing; salvation is the main thing. Tranquility is not the goal; the knowledge of the truth, that’s the goal. We do not pray simply for the prosperity of the land. We pray for the magnificent advancement of the saving purposes of God in every land.

And so, as today we pray – we pray for all people but especially for “all who are in authority.” We pray for President-Elect, Barack Obama, we pray for our Governor, Bobby Jindal, we pray for our Parish President, Mike Grimmer. We pray for peace and godliness to prevail, and we pray for the advancement of the Gospel.