Pray for All


What kind of government was present during the time of the apostle Paul? Not only that they were corrupt, they also persecuted the early church. 

According to The Bible Knowledge Commentary, “With Nero’s growing resentment toward Christians—which came to full bloom after the fire in Rome in July, a.d. 64—and the general disintegration of the Roman Empire due to Nero’s profligacy, Christians began to suffer persecution from the Roman authorities.” [1]

Yet, despite of the hostility towards them, Paul urged the believers to pray “for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Timothy 2:1b-2a). “All” means all. It excludes no one and includes everyone. 
Paul urged the church to especially pray for those in authority. Godless Emperor Nero was on the throne at that time, and yet the believers were supposed to pray for him! Even when we cannot respect men or women in authority, we must respect their offices and pray for them. [2]
We have no right to criticize the government if we are not even praying for them. As someone wrote, “Not to speak is to speak.” When we don’t pray for the government, we are actually asking for something else. If we pray, God might bless us with “a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (v. 2b) If we fail to pray, we may end with the opposite, that is, a troubled, ungodly and undignified life. The Message version goes like this,
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.
It is not selfish to pray for such a simple, quiet and contemplative life. Paul clearly said, “This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.” 

Is it possible that the reason why we are not experiencing such a blessed life is because we have failed to pray for our government?

Prayer Points for the Philippines

Pray that God will bless the Philippines with leaders better than we deserve. We should also pray that we Filipinos will be motivated to fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship, yet also that we will be stripped of an unhealthy and idolatrous confidence in the power of government to save us. [3]

[1] A. Duane Litfin, “1 Timothy” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, Eds. John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983, 1985), 734.

[2] Warren Wiersbe, “1 Timothy” in The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1989), 215. Emphasis added.

[3] Adapted from Albert Mohler’s “Ten Things to Pray for America on Election Day,” Christianity.Com, retrieved from http://www.christianity.com/.





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