"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. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity" 1 Timothy 2:1-2 NLT
For many years now, the Frog Fitness Group ministry I'm blessed to be a part of has hosted a monthly 3.1 mile race at no charge—appropriately named the FFG Free Donut Run 5k because of the generous sponsors that offer donuts, water and coffee to everyone who participates. And as you can imagine, the community loves these races as much as we do. But what this group loves even more is beginning each and every race with prayer; something we have done since the very first 5k and did again last Saturday morning. And while we stood in our distanced spots rather than joining hands around a prayer circle like we did pre-COVID, each person there seemed to understand the importance of praying together no matter how differently we had to do it.
And you know, when it comes to praying together as a unified body of believers, the Bible tells us that we are to "pray for all people" asking God to "help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them." And we are also to pray "this way for kings and all who are in authority" whether we agree with their views or not so that the world be more open to receive the Gospel. Just think about it... if our leaders would come to know Jesus and follow Him, how much faster and more effectively would the Good News spread? How much more would our world be influenced to follow Christ if kings followed Him?
So no matter what your political views might be my friend, never allow them to keep you from praying for those "who are in authority so that we can all live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity." After all, let me remind you... this is not merely a suggestion but a command.
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that we are to continually pray for all people. Cause us to remember that when Paul wrote the command to pray for those in authority that the persecution of Christians by kings and rulers was a huge threat and yet he knew it was more important to pray for them than to insult or degrade them. Help us to see this truth that we might fervently pray for our leaders. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
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