Monday Devotional: September 12, 2022

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:1-7 (CEB)

First of all, then, I ask that requests, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be made for all people. 1 Timothy 2:1 (CEB)

The author of First Timothy first urges that prayers, supplication, thanksgivings, and intercessions be made for everyone, but then singles out one particular group: kings and all who are in high positions. The implication is that praying for one’s leaders isn’t a natural impulse. Is this true for us?

I imagine it depends on how we feel about particular leaders. If we’re sympathetic to their perspective and strategies or are connected to them personally, it likely feels more natural to concern ourselves with them in our prayer lives. If it’s a leader we despise or vehemently disagree with, I suspect most of us rarely spare a thought for her or him that isn’t an angry one.

This passage suggests, however, that concerning ourselves spiritually with those in power is crucial to “quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” It says that God wants everyone to follow God’s will, including- perhaps especially-those with power. We are to pray that our leaders behave and lead in ways that promote God’s love and justice. Whether we support and defend or decry and reject a given leader, it is our responsibility to seek a world in which those in power live in ways that reflect God’s love and care for all people.

I’ve often heard it said that sometimes we pray with our words and sometimes we pray with our feet. It seems that seeking faithful and righteous behavior from our leaders requires more than silent prayer. It requires that we engage our leaders in ways that call upon their better angels and our own. And we must do so from a place of love and faith.

Prayer

God, guide our leaders in your wisdom. Give them hearts of courage to enact your love and justice. Amen

By Layton E Williams, Upper Room Disciplines 2022, p. 308.