"Respect the Authorities": Scriptural Framework #2 ~ The Prayers of the Saints

Having introduced the topic of respect for God-constituted authorities, and considered a proper subjection, we move on to account for the prayers of the saints.

The Prayers of the Saints

I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (1 Tim. 2:1-2)

Paul calls Timothy to fulfill his appointed role with fidelity. Part of that requires Timothy to be truly and righteously publicly minded. We may be separate from the world, but we do not cut ourselves off from those around us, from the world in which we live. One of the ways in which we show our engagement with the world is by prayer.

Here is a command that all kinds of prayers be offered for all kinds of men, including and especially kings and all who are in authority. Paul speaks of various approaches made to the Lord God: seeking to obtain needful things, making requests, having close dealings with God on behalf of ourselves and others, also giving thanks to God for His goodness bestowed on others and on ourselves. Why does Timothy need to pray in this way? The desired consequences are not to obtain wealth, power, influence, or prominence in society or among its rulers, but simply to be able to get on with the job of beingthe saints of God without interference or oppression. God's people wish simply to conduct themselves in godliness and reverence, discharging the duties we have toward God and men. The commentator Patrick Fairbairn says that these are prayers that we "may be allowed freely to enjoy our privileges, and maintain the pious and orderly course which becomes us as Christians, without the molestation, the troubles, and the unseemly shifts which are the natural consequence of inequitable government and abused power." [1 & 2 Timothy and Titus (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2002), 112.] Up to a point, we wish merely to be left alone to get on with the life that God has called us to lead.

Here is a new covenant echo of the prayer that the exiles of Jeremiah's day had commended to them: "Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace" (Jer. 29:7). We do not wish to suffer from rapid shifts of power, from abuses of authority, or from threats to civil order. Pray, then, that the Lord would guide those in authority so that you may have peace to pursue righteousness. Paul goes on to say to Timothy that such a disposition to pray and such a righteous expectation is pleasing to the Lord God.

Excerpted from the book Passing Through: Pilgrim Life in the Wilderness (Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com or Westminster Bookstore or RHB).