Years ago in a relatively small Green Mountain community, a few Democrats decided to make the highly irregular move of holding a Democratic meeting, and issued an invitation to the public. The town minister was a staunch Republican, but he had a Democrat in his congregation and decided to attend as an observer to find out what was going on. There being no other clergymen present he was asked if he would open the meeting with prayer.
He said that he was sorry, but he would have to decline. “To be frank,” he explained, “I’d rather the good Lord didn’t know I was here.”
I don’t know if this story is true or not, but it does illustrate the fact that people can feel pretty passionate about their political positions, even ministers. Before I go any further or dig my hole any deeper, I should go on record and say that, unlike the minister in this story and as my parishioners know, I am be happy to open any meeting with prayer, whether it be a town meeting, Democratic, Republican, or some other type of meeting.
This little anecdote also testifies to the historically quirky relationship between prayer and politics. This has certainly been the case in America ever since the days of the Second Continental Congress, when a Pennsylvanian by the name of Benjamin Franklin (our town and county namesake) made the recommendation to include a prayer before the opening of each session of both the House and the Senate. On June 28, 1787, he said:
“I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that a nation cannot rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that ‘except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel . . . I therefore beg leave to move— that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that Service.”
Throughout the majority of our great nation’s history, prayer and politics have enjoyed a cordial relationship. Many politicians, like Ben Franklin and Abraham Lincoln, have been people deeply committed to prayer. Many clergymen, like Lloyd J. Ogilvie, who was the Chaplain of the United States Senate from 1995-2003, have been deeply committed to praying for politicians. But in our present American situation, the relationship that was once cordial has become controversial. Some political meetings welcome prayer and others do not. Likewise, some prayer meetings welcome politics and others do not. I believe it is fair to say that the current relationship between prayer and politics is rather awkward.
Today it is my goal to help these two great entities make amends and embrace each other again. To do this, I would like for us to consider 1 Timothy 2:1-7, where the Apostle Paul admonishes the church to pray for its governing officials.
The epistle of 1 Timothy is a personal letter from Paul to his young ministry associate Timothy, who was leading the church in the city of Ephesus. The purpose of the letter was to encourage Timothy in his work of rebuilding a church that had been rocked by heresy. The first order of business was to restore the prayer life of the church, with a special emphasis on praying for those who are in positions of power. Let us see how Paul establishes the priority and purpose of praying for politicians!
1.) The Priority of Praying for Politicians (1-2)
Paul begins this section of the letter by making a plea to Timothy and the Ephesian church to pray for all people. He uses four different words for prayer—supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings. Although these terms are clearly linked together for emphasis, they each highlight different aspects of prayer. The first word “supplications” means specific requests. The second term translated here as “prayers” is the Greek word proseuca.j (proseuchas), which refers to asking for God’s general blessing and care. The third term “intercessions” refers to a bold and urgent appeal on behalf of another person. The fourth term is the Greek word euvcaristi,aj (eucharistias) from which we get our English word Eucharist. These are prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving to God for what he has done.
Paul expected Timothy and the Ephesian church to employ all of these forms of prayer “for all people.” But what exactly does this mean—every single human being on earth? Probably not! It would be virtually impossible for anyone to pray for every person. Paul most likely has in mind here “all [kinds] of people.”
This point is reinforced further by the fact that Paul immediately singles out one “kind” of people in verse 2—“kings and those who are in high positions.” In the context of this letter, the “king” would have been the Roman Emperor and “those in high positions” were the civil authorities in Ephesus and throughout the Roman Empire. Now we have to remember that at the time of the writing of this letter, the Roman Empire was starkly opposed to Christianity. Their worldview and values couldn’t have been more different. Some of the politicians ordered Christians to be thrown into the arena to be eaten by lions, but Paul urged the church to pray for them anyway.
This verse echoes a theme that we see repeated throughout the New Testament about church and state relations. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus told his disciples, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. In Romans 13:1, Paul says, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
Legislators, it is true that you have been elected to your position by your constituents, but it is also true that you have been chosen by God to make laws for our state. It is not an accident or coincidence that you will represent your communities; you have been divinely called to this role. And God wants you to use all of the talents and skills that he has given you to make just and wise decisions. He wants to you to exhibit the virtues of love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. He wants you to roll up your sleeves and work hard on behalf of his people. Being a legislator is a difficult but high calling; may the Lord richly bless your work this session!
Church, God has called all us to pray for our politicians. It is our Christian duty to pray for our president, congress, governor, state legislators, and town officials. We need to pray for the ones we like and dislike—the ones with who we agree and disagree—the ones who share our worldview, values, morals, convictions, and the ones who don’t.
The reality is that some of you love President Barack Obama—you think he is the best thing since…well, Bill Clinton. That is fine! Make sure you pray for him! Some of you despise our President; you are opposed to everything that he represents. That’s fine too! You don’t have to vote for him, but you better be praying for him! God calls us to pray for all kinds of people, but we must make it a high priority to pray for those who make laws and govern our nation and state.
3.) The Purpose of Praying for Politicians (3-7)
Some of you may be wondering why Paul was so passionate about Timothy and the church to pray for their government officials. Well, he reveals that purpose in the second part of verse 2 when he says “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and dignified in every way.” Paul understood that the governing officials have the power to make people’s lives miserable or peaceable. In the midst of a culture often scorned Christianity, Paul deeply desired that the government would allow Christians to live out their faith without fear.
Along with this, Paul wanted the church to pray for the politicians because they had the ability to change the societal conditions that would enable the gospel of Jesus Christ to flourish. In verse 4, Paul makes a profound theological statement that directly contradicted the heresy that was being spread in Ephesus. The false teachers promoted a religious view that God’s grace and salvation were only for certain types of people, namely those who conformed to their judaizing philosophies. But Paul corrects this view by saying that “God desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” The term “all” means “all kinds” as it did in verse 1. God desires all kinds of people to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ; it is not limited by race, ethnicity, gender, background, or occupation.
Paul clarifies the gospel in verse 5 when he says, “there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all…” This is the very core of the Christian message: the only way to receive forgiveness and get to God in heaven is through the one man Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only one who lived a sinless life and could give himself as a guiltless ransom. He is the only one who could provide atonement for humanity’s sins.
This message is the whole reason why Paul was appointed to be an apostle. It was his God-given mission to proclaim the faith and truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why Paul wanted Timothy to pray for the civil authorities.
Now religious freedom in modern America is very different than it was in the Roman Empire. We enjoy many rights and privileges that our Christian forbearers could only dream about. For the most part, we are currently able to live quiet and peaceable lives and pursue godliness and dignity, worship God, and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ freely. But that may not always be the case! Our governing officials still have the power to alter societal conditions and make them more or less favorable to religious freedom. Our governing officials still have the power to make decisions to either enhance or inhibit the common good. Our governing officials still have the power to either amplify or hinder the mission of our church, which is “To know Jesus Christ and to make him known to the world.” So, for these and many other reasons, we still need to pray for our politicians!
Why is this so important? Because the gospel of Jesus Christ is a matter of life and death: eternal life and eternal death! There is still only one God, and there is still only one mediator between God and humans, the man Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life and willingly died on the cross to provide atonement for our sins. Jesus Christ is the only way to get to heaven! There is no other! Mohammed can’t get you there! Buddha can’t get you there! Good works can’t get you there! Being a “good” person can’t get you there! Faith in Jesus Christ is the only way!
Therefore, I ask all of you: Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins? Have you responded to the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection for the redemption of your soul? Have you experienced the hope, peace, and joy of knowing that there is life beyond the grave?
Franklin County Legislators, thank you for joining us here today so that our church community might fulfill our Christian duty of praying for you. We want you all to know that we are grateful for you and your commitment to serving our communities; we deeply appreciate your work! We also want you to know that this family of faith will not just go through the ceremonial motions of praying for you today, but we will be offering supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for you throughout this difficult session. And if there is anything else that we can do to assist you in your work, please let us know!