If you are an American adult, chances are you have been disappointed about the outcome of at least one election within the last ten years.

When you woke up the morning after the election and heard the results, a wave of shock or horror filled your soul. If you are not careful, the frustration that arises within you spills out of your mouth in the form of complaining or cutting down the government leader for four long years.

In the midst of your discontent about a government leader, you read a hard part of Scripture.

In I Timothy 2:1-2, Paul says “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

This is not a hard part because it is hard to understand. “Pray for kings and all those in authority.” This is a hard part because it is hard to do.

For Timothy, to whom Paul originally writes this command, this was not an easy task. The Roman Empire under which Timothy and Paul lived persecuted Christians. Since Paul was imprisoned he saw firsthand how awful this government was. Yet he called for the Christians to pray for the government leaders.

Paul Made it Personal

One thing I noticed in this passage is that he didn’t ask Timothy to pray for “the government” as a whole. Paul made the command more personal by telling Timothy to pray for the people in the positions of authority. This makes the command even harder when the person in the government position is not “our guy.”

Paul wording the command this way is also designed to soften our angry heart. Imagine an elected official whom you do not like or respect walking up to you and asking you to pray for them. He shares with you a struggle he is having personally. Maybe he has a loved one who is sick or he is feeling beyond stressed about a decision he has to make. Even though you disagree with him politically or do not respect him as a person, you begin to see the elected official in a new way—as a person who has struggles, needs, limitations, and regrets. Since you know the feeling of relief when someone agrees to pray for you, you answer him, “of course, I’ll pray for you.”

Why should we pray for our government leaders?

God said so.

Paul’s command is not a conditional statement. It is not dependent on whether or not we like or agree with the leader in power. God says to pray for the people in our government so that is what we should do in obedience to God.

So we can have peaceful and quiet lives.

Compared to Paul’s day, we already live in a time when we have peaceful and quiet lives.  Are we using our freedom to share the gospel? Imagine what Paul would have done in our culture of protected free speech!

God is the one who guides the decisions of the government leaders.

Therefore, it makes sense to pray to the Lord to guide their steps. ^“In the LORD’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.” Proverbs 21:1

Praying for government leaders can change what how we talk about them.

If we love the Lord God and we praise Him with our mouths, we should not also be tearing down government leaders with our mouths. Regularly praying for people in government positions can make it easier to watch our mouths. James 3:9-10 says, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”

Do you pray for your government leaders? What do you pray for them? Comment below!