Transforming Authority Through Prayer

By Dean Collins

Throughout Paul’s missionary travels, he established many churches. His church planting would therefore not allow him to be a long-term pastor of any one church. However, due to his spiritual authority as an apostle, he wrote many letters to the various churches to provide encouragement and sometimes to correct doctrinal and theological misunderstandings and issues.

Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus so that he could correct some false teachers who were not actually aligned with Jesus. Knowing that Timothy would encounter opposition from some, Paul wrote Timothy letters to make sure he had the help and support he needed to get the church headed in the right direction. Paul deals very specifically with some of the content the false teachers were propagating in the first chapter of 1 Timothy. 

As the second chapter opens, Paul moves to the importance of congregational prayer and individual or private prayer. Paul began by saying: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made…” A careful reader automatically will look for what is of second or third importance, but Paul actually didn’t use "first of all" in that sense. Paul wants Timothy and other readers to know that this subject of prayer is of utmost importance. "First of all" means it is a priority. Or, in other words, don’t proceed until you have first prayed.

 There are some scholars who focus on the words supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings as being significantly different. They are four different Greek words, yet all under the umbrella of prayer. I want to suggest that while they may represent different kinds of prayer, I think Paul’s main point is to pray. Pray as a congregation, pray individually, pray often, and don’t jump into plans and strategies except that you pray first so that the Holy Spirit is leading. Those who were the false teachers referenced in Chapter 1 were certainly not being led by the Holy Spirit.

 Maybe, at a later date, I will solicit a real Greek scholar to discuss the four different ways Paul references prayer. But for today, I want to focus on who Paul says we are to pray for, which is for everyone:

“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people…”

When we come together as the church, as well as when we are in some quiet place in prayer, we are to pray for all people. Why all people? Because, as Paul later states in this passage, “For there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who game himself as a ransom for all.” Christ died for all people, because his goal is the redemption of every person and to restore all that was broken by our sin.

Paul doesn’t stop there. We pray for all people to come to know Jesus, to start. Paul then adds that we pray “for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” We are told to pray for our leaders. Not some of them, but all of them. Those who have authority over us, which would include our employers, our church leadership, and our local, state, and federal elected officials. That means also praying for the leadership of both political parties here in the U.S. Nowhere does Paul say to pray for the leaders you agree with, like, or prefer, and ignore the rest of them. Paul tells us directly that we are to pray for our civic leaders.

You might push back and think that Paul doesn’t understand the broken political system of 2024. Don’t forget that Paul’s instructions meant that the Christians were told to pray for the Roman leaders, including those that had and would persecute them. Paul, of course, would include our secular leaders in those for whom Jesus died, so we can pray for their salvation. But Paul also said that we pray for them so that we can lead a quiet and peaceful life.

I doubt we have yet seen the impact of what a united church praying daily for our leaders might do. But imagine what could happen at work, in your community, in our country and in the world if Christians everywhere prayed for those in authority! I suspect we would see many surrendering to Christ as Lord. 

I will confess that in reviewing my prayer list, I have very few government leaders and world leaders in my daily prayers, either individually or categorically. Starting today, I am changing that. I hope you will consider that change in your prayer life, as well.

Father, your Holy Spirit convicts us as we realize once again how powerful the prayers of the church are. Forgive us for our laziness in prayer. Today we pray for those in authority, that you would reveal yourself to them so powerfully that they would understand the depth of your love for them. Transform the hearts and minds of all who are in authority, that your work of redemption and restoration would be visible to all. In Jesus's name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
1 Timothy 2:1-7 ESV

Photo by Refik Mollabeqiri on Unsplash
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