November 22, 2018

When we pray, we pray for all. In good times and bad times, pray for all.

“¹First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, ²for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-2

As I read this morning, God drew me to this part of the passage. We are to pray for all, not something new or exciting or profound in and of itself. Where the profoundness for me came was in the commentary that I read regarding the verses.

Verse 1 is pretty understandable, I am looking and focused on verse 2 this morning. “For kings”, those “in high positions” is how the verse leads. We are to pray for those in authority, nothing new there, but when? My New International Version (NIV) has some commentary surrounding verse 2 that I would like to add here:

“When our lives are going along peacefully and quietly, it is difficult to remember to pray for those in authority, because we often take good government for granted. It’s easier to remember to pray when we experience problems. But we should pray for those in authority around the world so that their societies will be conducive to the spread of the gospel.”

Notice that prayer in good times and bad, and the last sentence is such a great part to explain the reason for our prayer. I myself fall into the traps of praying more urgently when things are not going well and when they are ok, I miss out on the opportunity to lift up “kings and all who are in high positions”.

I have to remember that our prayer is powerful and, IT WORKS.

“¹⁶…The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” – James 5:16

When you pray, are you using your power in prosperous times just as you are in difficult ones? Do we pray for all, and I mean all? I wonder, do we remember to pray for the “spread of the gospel”? What does your prayer look like?