A stream of water in the Lord’s hand
Over the past year we may have felt more affected by the decisions of Government than ever before. Far reaching regulations affecting our households, our churches, and our economy have been introduced. The long-term effects will no doubt last well beyond the current pandemic.
If we step back from the current situation for a moment we have to recognise that it’s always been the case that the decisions of those in authority have huge impacts on our lives. From the cradle to the grave we are affected by decisions about health care, about education, about the economy. The moral direction of the nation is deeply affected by those who are in power.
No right-thinking Christian could conclude that the decisions of those in authority ‘makes no difference to me.’
But how are we to respond? There are a variety of places we could turn – the foundational principles laid down in creation; the scope of the Fifth Commandment; the Biblical examples of those who held authority; or those like Daniel and Elijah who found themselves on a collision course with it. There are passages which speak directly of our response to the civil authorities like Romans 13: 1-7; 1 Peter 2:17.
But a vital and urgent response is prayer for those in authority.
‘First of all then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.’ 1 Tim. 2: 1-2
One thing we must do for those in authority is to pray for them. To plead with God that in His mercy and kindness the decisions of those who lead us will be for our good; that those who lead will know His help; that justice and uprightness will prevail, knowing that ‘righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people’.
Consider for a moment who we are praying to. We pray to the God who reigns over all the nations of the earth, ‘who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness’ (Isaiah 40: 23). This is the God who knows with infinite wisdom the effects of every law that is passed and every decision that is made. He knows all the secret discussions in the corridors of power, more than all the commentators put together. The LORD is powerfully at work in this world – ‘the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will’.
“Are we at times grieved or angered by decisions that are made? Prayer is far more effective than shouting at the radio! ”
Remember the might and power of the God that we come to. As believers we can sometimes struggle with seemingly unanswered prayer. Why are ungodly pieces of legislation passed? Didn’t we pray about them? Why do things seem to be moving in a more secular and less Christian direction? We cannot provide all the answers – we don’t know all the purposes of God in these things. But time after time in Scripture we are reminded of how God does hear the cries of His people, sometimes after many years, sometimes in ways we don’t expect.
Remember too how prayer changes us. Are we at times grieved or angered by decisions that are made? Prayer is far more effective than shouting at the radio! Prayer is so often the source and encouragement of a God-glorifying Biblical outlook on the world. Are our attitudes not shaped by the things that we pray for, and our desires more aligned with the will of God. How important it is to be in prayer for those in authority.
It may be the case at times in the evangelical world that prayer has been misused as an excuse for passive inaction, like the man in James who tells a hungry man to ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled’. (James 2:16.) It shouldn’t become that – prayer should undergird our action. What good are we able to do? When did you last write to a politician thanking them for their public service? How much have we sought to find out about important issues locally or nationally and sought to engage with them in a Christian way?
How important prayer for those in authority is – notice the apostle’s goal and purpose in these prayers: ‘that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.’ The apostle was concerned that God’s people should be able to lead God-honouring lives and that His kingdom should be advanced. This isn’t just about our lives in this present world, but about the gospel being furthered, men and women being saved, about the glory and honour and praise of our God.
