"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour". (1 Tim. 2:1-3)
One area where most us Christians fail is in the area of praying for the nation. No matter which nationality we belong to, we are to pray for our nations. For those of us who are in democratic nations, we have the responsibility not only to pray for the nation, but also to elect good leaders for our nations through our votes during national elections. Most of the time we are quilty of criticizing our leaders without ever praying for them even once! Now let us look briefly at what the Bible teaches about praying for the nation:
1.Good government is God’s will: Since the Old Testament times, we could see that God was intimately involved in the affairs of men and nations. He pulled down wicked kings and nations, and raised others in their place. As King David said in 1 Chronicles 29:11, everything in heaven and earth, including kingdoms, belong to God. Even King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was punished for his pride until he acknowledged that ‘the Most High (God) is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes’! (Daniel 4:32). The kind of government God wants is where people “may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”.(1 Tim. 2:2)
2.Prayer can change history: From the Bible, as well as from personal experiences of many Christians even today, it has been proved time and again that prayer could change the course of history of a nation. God is ready to restore and heal the nation if His people repent of their wicked ways and pray. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land”. (2 Chro. 7:14)
3.Christians are obligated to pray for the nation: We are told in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 that we should pray for kings and all those in authority (government), and to do so is good and pleasing to God. Many of us are guilty of NEVER praying for the government while very vocal in criticising it! If we have never prayed for the government, we have no right to criticise it!
4.Christians are ‘salt’ and ‘light’ for the world: (Matthew 5: 13 & 14) We, as Christians, are called to be salt and light for our communities and our nation. We are not just to sit down and complain, but to do good works for the nation and lead others by our positive examples.
5.Christians are called to be ‘watchmen’ for the nation: The Church is called to be the ‘watchman’ for the nation(Ezekiel 33:7). The church has to play a propetic role for the nation, teaching people of God’s will and warning them of the dreadful consequences of disobeying Him.
6.Christians are ‘priests’ for the nation: The Christian Church, being a ‘royal priesthood’ (1 Pet. 2:9) has a priestly role to play for the nation by declaring the wonderful things about God, and interceding for the nation.
7.Rulers are established by God: Romans 13: 1-7 tells us that the government authorities are established by God. As we have seen in the Old Testament, God sometimes raised wicked rulers to punish His people Israel when they disobey Him. In our present context, we know that God will give us good rulers if we ask Him. In a democratic society, God establishes rulers through the process of election, and if we happen to have bad rulers we have only ourselves to blame because we are the ones who elect them! Let us remember this saying: We get the kind of government we deserve!
