I read the article, another political one, and closed my eyes in the car.
“I don’t even know how to pray,” I confessed to Jeff. The urge is everywhere, “Pray for our country!” But how? Everyone has their own opinion, and it can feel dizzying at times.
Then,I find myself reminded of Christ’s method:
Men were His method. That is, people. People were his plan for reaching the world.
So then, we pray not “for our country” in a vague sense, but we pray for people. Specifically 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says,
“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving 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. PRAY FOR LEADERS
Robert Coleman echoed this in His classic book, The Master’s Plan of Evangelism:
“There is no use to pray vaguely for the world. The world is lost and blind in sin. The only hope for the world is for men and women to go to them with the Gospel of Salvation, and having won them to the Savior, not to leave them, but to work with them faithfully, patiently, painstakingly, until they become fruitful Christians savoring the world around them with the Redeemer’s love.” (109)
2. PRAY FOR LABORERS
Yes. We are to pray for people. And specifically, we are to pray for leaders, and then pray that laborers will go out into the world and make disciples, that is, to bring in a harvest of souls who will know, love, and follow Jesus Christ as King. Jesus says clearly,
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).
3. PRAY FOR LIVES ROOTED IN CHRIST
Notice in the 1 Timothy 2 passage, our prayer for people (esp. leaders) is linked to a lifestyle of Christlikeness — one that is peaceful, quiet, dignified, and godly. I dare say we all could use a dose of that in today’s political climate! Henri Nouwen, writing on Christian Leadership in 1989, wrote these timely words that seem especially applicable today, in the climate of our country.
“I have the impression that many of the debates within the Church around issues such as … homosexuality, birth control, abortion, and euthanasia take place on a primarily moral level. On that level, different parties battle about right or wrong. But that battle is often removed from the experience of God’s first love which lies at the base of all human relationships. Words like right-wing, reactionary, conservative, liberal, and left-wing are used to describe people’s opinions, and many discussions then seem more like political battles for power than spiritual searches for truth.
Christian leaders cannot simply be persons who have well-informed opinions about the burning issues of our time. Their leadership must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance. … Dealing with burning issues without being rooted in a deep personal relationship with God easily leads to divisiveness because, before we know it, our sense of self is caught up in our opinion about a given subject. But when we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.” (p. 30-32)
I don’t know about you, but it’s easy to be discouraged and disheartened when we look at our world today. BUT, when we fix our eyes on Jesus and His Word and not the latest campaign speech, we are empowered to PRAY strategically and effectively for the lost, for our leaders, for laborers, and for our lifestyles, that we would walk in humility and Christlikeness, rooted deeply in His unchanging love.
Praying. Thanks for reading.