This week, I read 1 Timothy 2:1-8 and these verses really grabbed me as I thought about current political discourse as we head into our November election which, for many, is controversial and stress-inducing. What caught me first was this:

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

(2 Timothy 2:1-2, NASB)

This deals with the content of Christian prayer, and a couple key words or phrases stood out to me:

  • “entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings”: We’re to pray all kinds of prayers, including those of thanks, for everyone
  • “all men”: We’re exhorted to pray for everyone, including kings and “all who are in authority”
  • “we may live”: We’re to pray this so that we can live in tranquility under their leadership

At the time this was written, the hated Romans were in power, and it’s likely that Nero – famous for his persecution of Christians, even to the point of having them burned to light the evening – was emperor at this time. This likely was written during a time, then, when Christians were beginning to face some persecution, if not already being severely persecuted. Yet Paul tells Timothy to pray for all men and then singles out kings and all who are in authority which would have included the Roman Emperor.

Let’s think about that for a minute with respect to politics. As we head into this controversial election, what do our prayers look like? I’m pretty confident that, whatever atrocities our current leadership is accused of, they can’t match those of the Romans, nor the persecutions which occurred under Nero (eg see Foxe’s Book of Martyrs). And, the faults of our next administration – whether it stays the same or changes – likely can’t compare. But regardless, Paul doesn’t make that a condition. He doesn’t tell Timothy (and by extension, Christians) to pray for those in authority only if they are decent, or only if they deserve it. No, we’re to pray for everyone, including kings and those in authority.

How can we manage this? It’s an outpouring of love – the love we are to have even for our enemies, as Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. And there it is – pray for those who persecute you.

Matthew Henry summarizes this verse in Timothy this way:

See how far the Christian religion was from being a sect, when it taught men this diffusive charity, to pray, not only for those of their own way, but for all men. Pray for kings (v. 2); though the kings at this time were heathens, enemies to Christianity, and persecutors of Christians, yet they must pray for them, because it is for the public good that there should be civil government, and proper persons entrusted with the administration of it, for whom therefore we ought to pray, yea, though we ourselves suffer under them…

The Bible has a lot more to say on the topic of government (see eg Romans 13, 1 Peter 2:13-14, etc.), but our focus today is prayer. Do we love even our enemies, so that we’re praying for them?

Matthew Henry also notes that this passage tells us what we ought to seek in praying for them:

He does not say, “that we may get preferments under them, grow rich, and be in honour and power under them;” no, the summit of the ambition of a good Christian is to lead a quiet and peaceable life, to get through the world unmolested in a low private station. We should desire that we and others may lead a peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, implying that we cannot expect to be kept quiet and peaceable unless we keep in all godliness and honesty.

Our goal in this prayer, then, is partly that we would simply be able to mind our own business as we live under a government that will hopefully let us live a peaceable and quiet life.

There’s more to it than that, though! 1 Timothy 2:1-2 addresses prayer, but verse 8 also returns to it, noting:

Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath or dissension.

So, here, we’re to pray without wrath or dissension. Are we angry when we pray? Angry with the other political party, or with our leaders, or another professing Christian with whom we disagree? This is telling us we may need to examine our hearts if that’s the case. Again, Jesus addressed this in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:22, NASB):

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.

Jesus said this in the context of explaining how this kind of anger amounts to a violation of the commandment against murder. We’re guilty of murder not only if we commit murder, but if we have this kind of anger in our hearts. It’s not just the outward act of murder which is prohibited by the commandment, but the heart attitude behind it.

So, what should we do? First, if we’re believers, we need to pray for people – even those with whom we vehemently disagree – and include in that our current and future leaders. Second, if we’ve been engaged in wrath and dissension as we do so, we need to repent. We may be guilty of precisely the same kind of anger that the commandment against murder prohibits. So, as Jesus said, we may even be guilty of murder and “be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell”.

Thankfully, Jesus came precisely to save sinners from sin, including sins such as these – railing against our political enemies, failing to pray for them, or harboring wrath in our hearts.

For myself, this passage challenged me to try and read social media posts from members of the opposite political party with a different heart and attitude. Instead of thinking about how offended I might be by the oversimplification of and attacks on my views, I want to pray for them, and for our leaders, current and future.