In an ordinary stable, He had an extraordinary birth.

 

 And that ordinary baby grew into an extraordinary man.

 

 With ordinary words, He shared an extraordinary message.

 

 And on an ordinary cross, He died an extraordinary death.

 

 But an ordinary, empty tomb proved His extraordinary miracle...

 

 So that ordinary people can have extraordinary Life.

 

MAY YOUR HEART BE FILLED 

WITH THE EXTRAORDINARY 

TRUTH OF CHRISTMAS!

 fbns@wayoflife.org ;

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,  
intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings,  
and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and  
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and  
acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to  
be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is  
one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;  
Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1  
Timothy 2:1-6).

Paul says that praying for the government should be of the highest  
priority. It should be “first of all.” Prayer is one of the most  
important things in the Christian life and can accomplish more than  
political action. As J.B. Buffington wisely observed, “The answer is  
not in the White House but in God’s house.” Through the power of  
prayer, Bible-believing churches can have an influence far beyond  
their numbers. This is why we need to establish the habit of daily  
private intercessory prayer. Paul spoke of “my prayers” (Rom. 1:9).  
This is also why we should pray corporately. It is a very sad and  
telling fact that many churches no longer have a serious weekly prayer  
meeting, and those that do find that it is scantily attended.

The passage gives two reasons why God’s people need to pray for their  
governments.

First, we need to pray so that we might lead a quiet and peaceable  
life in all godliness and honesty (1 Tim. 2:2).

Observe that we are not to pray for peace so that we can pursue our  
own selfish aims. We are to pray for peace so that we might be rich  
toward God’s business rather than toward our own. Too often God’s  
people turn aside from godliness during times of peace and prosperity;  
they seek their own will and pleasure ahead of God’s. Look at America  
and Canada. Most churches are fat and worldly and lukewarm about God’s  
work; they are entertaining and mollifying the saints rather than  
challenging them to put Christ first. Look at the older saints. The  
tendency is to settle down, to seek security and comfort, while being  
half-hearted about obeying God and fulfilling the Great Commission.

Observe that we are to live in “all godliness.” Too often the churches  
that are living in times of peace and prosperity are characterized by  
worldliness rather than purity. Observe, too, that we are to live  
“honestly.” This is in contrast to every form of dishonesty, to  
stealing, crooked business practices, borrowing and not repaying,  
slacking off on the job, and such.

Second, we need to pray so that the gospel might be preached to all  
men (1 Tim. 2:3-6).

The Lord Jesus commanded that the gospel be preached to every person  
(Mark 16:15), and in 1 Timothy 2 we see why, because God wants all men  
to be saved. This work of world evangelism is called the “great  
commission,” because it is so emphasized in the New Testament (Mat.  
28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). This work  
is carried out more effectively in conditions of peace. Some say that  
what North American churches need is persecution, and there is some  
truth to that, but at the same time persecution hinders the free  
preaching of the gospel. Consider China. The governmental persecution  
there against the public preaching of the gospel and the free  
gathering of non-registered churches and the totalitarian control of  
the media, including the internet, means that a large percentage of  
the people haven’t heard the gospel. The same is true for Muslim  
nations such as Iran and Saudi Arabia. Consider the example of Nepal.  
Prior to the 1990s, it was illegal to preach the gospel in Nepal and  
as a result the number of churches was very small and the vast  
majority of the people knew nothing of the gospel. In the early 1990s  
there was a change in the constitution and governmental persecution  
ceased. Since then, the number of churches has increased dramatically  
and multitudes have heard the gospel that otherwise would not have  
under the previous conditions.

God would not have exhorted us to pray for kings and those in  
authority if He did not intend to answer those prayers. Through the  
power of prayer we have the privilege of making a dramatic difference  
in this present world.