“I urge you, first of all, to
pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give
thanks for them.” – 1 Timothy 2: 1 (NLT).
It is easy for us to pray for the
well-being of our family and our loved ones, but it is another thing to pray
for the well-being of others that we don’t like. In the context of the persecution of
Christians by the Romans government, Apostle Paul asked Pastor Timothy to pray
for the good of his government. And not just any prayer, Paul asked Timothy to
bring requests, supplication and thanksgiving for the heathen leaders before
God. It is not imprecatory prayer- prayer that God will punish those who are
evil, but a prayer of thanksgiving on their behalf.
Why did Paul ask Pastor Timothy
to do that? In verse 2b, it is stated that the twofold purposes of Paul’s
advice are that the believers can live a peaceful life in righteousness and
tranquility and also so it will become a testimony that will bring people to
the Truth. These purposes in line with the gospel of Jesus that encourages the
disciples to pray for those who persecute you.
Our natural tendency is to
attack back those who intend to harm us. It is ingrained in our nature to do
that, but Jesus asked us to do the opposite (to give another cheek, to walk
another mile, to pray for them). What Jesus asked from us is not natural. This
is true, because it is supernatural. It is supernatural because natural men
cannot do it by themselves. It requires power from the Holy Spirit to enable us
to not only forgive those who have wronged us but also for us to pray a sincere
pray for the blessings for them.
This advice from Paul to
Timothy, is based on the character which is the sovereignty of the Heavenly Father.
Paul knew that nothing in this world happened outside the knowledge of God. He
permits things, allows things happen in our life to achieve His purpose.
In the middle of that situation
or problem in our life, we should not ask God why bad things happen to good
people. We should ask God, what He wants
us to do or to learn during our trial. In our passage, God’s plan is clear for
the church, that the church testimony of Christ in the middle of persecution
will become louder and clear for the unbelievers, including the government leaders.
In the world full of natural people, God through Apostle Paul has asked us to be a supernatural believer. No, not a superman nor an ironman, but an ordinary person who lives his life in a supernatural way through the power of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of bringing others to Him.
Believers, let us live a supernatural life for Him so
others will see and want to come to know Jesus. Amen.
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