Our last message in our series on prayer....

Today we are discussing how to mix prayer and politics.....

I have started making initial prayer appointments for the summer......it is when my prayer time gets a little erratic, so my strategy is to make prayer appointments with people and we get together and we .....pray......

If you would like to be one of those people, let me know.....some of you have already let me know you are willing and I will be calling this week to set our times.......

I want to be a person of prayer

I want to encourage you to be a person of prayer

Since this is Memorial Day, I thought I would go back in time to men in church history who sought to encourage us to pray

Read the Phillips Translation of the passage

2 1-2 Here then is my charge: First, supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings should be made on behalf of all men: for kings and rulers in positions of responsibility, so that our common life may be lived in peace and quiet, with a proper sense of God and of our responsibility to him for what we do with our lives.

3-6 In the sight of God our saviour this is undoubtedly the right thing to pray for; for his purpose is that all men should be saved and come to realise the truth. And that is, that there is only one God, and only one intermediary between God and men, Jesus Christ the man. He gave himself as a ransom for us all—an act of redemption which happened once, but which stands for all times as a witness to what he is.

7 I was appointed proclaimer and messenger of this great act of his, to teach (incredible as it may sound) the Gentile world to believe and know the truth.

8 I want the men to pray in all the churches with sincerity, without resentment or doubt in their minds.


The Message - Simple Faith and Plain Truth

2 1-3 The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.

4-8He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth. Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God.

Read excerpt from page 46 of FM Lupton edition

p. 308-309 - prayer helps us identify sin


p. 384-385 - prayer stops as we see God as a hassle and grow tired of His voice in our lives

Founder of the Methodist Church


Encouragement to continue in prayer p. 401

Roman soldier can ask you to carry his pack for a mile......imagine that expereince

Roman rulers lived in comparative lack of oversight....

oversight was minimal

oppression was common

taxes were high

little room for dissenting opinions

elections .......well......what elections.....?


Context of the passage

Leadership

Some "easy" subjects like:

praying for politicians

putting anger aside - seems there is nothing like a good robust political conversation to get one's blood pressure up....

putting the need to argue about politics aside........

Jesus being "the" ransom for our salvation

Challenges to Paul's auhority to speak in the first place

Women in leadership....and his notes about wardrobe issues......

I suspect it is not mistake that in the midst of all this is a strong encouragment to pray

to be made for everyone,

he then goes on to explain what kind of prayer he is talking about

list of needs

word is used in secular greek to describe the need for a ships captain to address, engage, pirates that are threatening him....

in other words - interceding for others is the willingness to engage a threat, challenge, problem in prayer that someone else is facing

It is a serious issue that cannot be ignored, for ignoring it means that something harmful could happen

the sense of urgency

Giving thanks - phrase is used in the context of God's work of salvation in the lives of those who are praying or being prayed for....


so, to give thanks for what God is doing in the lives of people we are praying for

to ask for God's work to be done in those lives

there is a purpose to all this.......

to pray for kings and all those in authority like this........

kings, rulers, leaders, presidents

and those in high place of responsibility

note the list of some leaders in your bulletin insert

Live - our manner of life, rule of life

(Illus. rule of life from spiritual formation....)

All........


godliness - order our lives around God's perspective, patterns etc......


holiness - not the usual word for holiness but sometimes translated dignity

what is proper or fitting in a given situation

what is honorable

what displays good character

Then goes on to describe the goodness of this activity, and how our prayer is focused on the God who secures our salvation through Jesus....

Down to verse 8......

Everywhere - there are political leaders who need prayer support

So, pray - genera word for prayer used in the beginning of the passage.....

present them to The Lord, lift them to Him, and deliver them into his presence, his hands, his influence

In holiness - the opposite of self centered leadership that is oppressive and corrupt

Without anger - lots to be angry about in politics

lots to explode over.........

Without disputing - rather with unity before The Lord, instead of bringing our political preferences to the prayer time......the issue is our focus is to be on The Lord rather than on the political issues that grind at our souls

Stop exploding in frustration and arguing about things.....and lift them to the Lord

Bring your needs to our extended prayer time next week

This week grab a friend and pray together

Pray anywhere - text says everywhere......

Pick a leader from the list of politicians

(Illus. See the list of politicians on the back of the handout....)

And pray for them..........

Read Wesley's prayer for communion p. 207