Who's In Charge Here? A Series on Authority
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
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My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the challenge in Your word to pray for ALL people! It is easy for me to pray for myself and for those I love. I ask You to give me a heart to pray for those in governing authority, a heart to pray for those who are unknown to me, but who are suffering or who are lost to Your kingdom at this moment. I ask You to give me the courage to pray for those whom I currently don’t like, or who have harmed me. I pray that You would forgive them, and forgive me for any grudges I am harboring toward anyone. I ask that by Your Holy Spirit you would set them free, and set me free, that I may constantly and consistently live for You. I pray that You will renew my heart today that I may be fully alive to carry out the plan and purpose You have for me today and everyday! All this I pray in the strong name of Jesus, my risen Savior and Lord. Amen.
God's Word Today
1 Timothy 2:1-4
1I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God’s mercy upon them, and give thanks. 2Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity. 3This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4for he wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
Reflecting on God's Word
What would it look like from your perspective if we all lived “in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity”?
For which governing authority do you most need to pray right now?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word
According to the Apostle Paul who should our “prayer list” include? (2:1-2)
What is the intended result of our prayers? (2:1-2)
How does God respond to such prayers? (2:3-4)
Understanding God's Purpose for Us
Why do you suppose that Paul narrows our “prayer list” down from ALL people to “kings and all others who are in authority” so quickly?
What impact does the kind of prayer Paul calls us to carry out have on us as we pray with that focus?
Applying God's Word to Our Purpose
Make a list of those who ought to be on your “prayer list” and start praying!!!
Thoughts...Please God, Our Savior!
The Apostle Paul makes it clear that prayer pleases God, our Savior. That doesn’t surprise us, since He tells us elsewhere that we ought to pray without ceasing. Jesus also called His followers to constant prayer. What makes Paul’s words of particular interest to us, is that he starts by telling us to pray for ALL people, pleading for God’s mercy in their lives and giving thanks to God as we pray. But then he shifts his focus to kings and all those who are in authority. Paul recognized that human authority—while derived from God and delegated by God is vital to our lives. As we’ve already seen, when the godly are in authority the people rejoice. For most of us praying for the governing authorities—and every other authority as well, may not be on the top of our prayer lists, but according to Paul it ought to be. We will experience tangible results around us: we’ll live in peace, quietness, godliness and dignity, but even more important than that, we’ll please God our Savior! That’s what it’s all about, anyway, right?