People sometimes ask, do Baptists pray for the Queen and for her Government? After all we are not the state church, the Church of England. We stand in the tradition of non-conformists and dissenters who at times were even persecuted by the state church. The answer is that, of course, Baptists pray for the Queen and for the Royal Family, and for the Government. Because the Bible tells all Christians to do so. As we celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee it is no coincidence that we find ourselves in Paul’s letters to Timothy and come to 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 1.
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority,
First of all – above all things. I wonder if we would have guessed what Paul considered should come first of all, above all things. Even if we had thought that prayer would be the most important thing for Christians to do, it might not even have occurred to us who Paul would ask us to pray for first, above all. “For kings and all those in authority.” The topic is so important that he uses four different words for our prayers – petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving. It isn’t easy to unravel the differences between those kinds of praying. The New Living Translation does well when it says, 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. In other words, there should be lots and lots of prayers, for all people and particularly “for kings and all those in authority.”
There are a number of reasons why this instruction might surprise us when we think of when Paul was writing, during the years when the church was experiencing brutal persecution under the Roman Empire at the direction of Emperor Nero. Christians were being crucified and used as human torches. Yet Paul still urges Christians to pray for kings, including the Emperor, and for the ruling authorities. In fact, the New Testament consistently urged the first Christians to submit to the ruling authorities even when those rulers were opposed to the Christian faith.
Titus 3:1 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.
Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
We should all submit to the governing authorities because we recognise that God has allowed them to be in control. In the current situation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it may be difficult to believe that God is allowing President Putin to be in control of Russia. But the Bible still insists that God is on the throne, and any authorities which exist have been put in place by God. That kind of respect for governing authorities was commanded in the Old Testament.
Exodus 22 28 “Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
Proverbs 24:21 Fear the LORD and the king, my son,
Jesus himself had taught his disciples
Matthew 22:21 … “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
So Paul wrote, Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities,
At roughly the same time, Peter also wrote to Christians enduring the same fierce persecution under Emperor Nero.
1 Peter 2 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
Despite all the sufferings of persecution, Peter and Paul both urged Christians to submit to the governing authorities, recognising that they have been put in place by God. God has appointed governments to protect the people and to punish wrongdoing. “Governors … are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” It is also the responsibility of governments to promote the welfare of everybody especially the poor and the weak and the needy. In return it is our Christian responsibility to be good citizens and this applies just as much whether the government is moral or immoral, God fearing or atheistic. So Romans 13:7 tells us that we should pay our taxes. “Give to everyone what you owe them: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.” Some governments are good, some are bad, some are ugly, but however oppressive the government may be, the instructions to Christians are the same.
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, … Show proper respect to everyone … fear God, honor the king.
Christians should be good citizens. We should always keep on praying for our government with petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving.
Paul gives Timothy two important reasons why we should be praying for kings and governments. Firstly,
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Saviour,
When government is good, ordinary people may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness. So we should keep on praying that God will lead and help kings and rulers to be good and wise rulers and governments to be good and just and compassionate governments. We need justice to protect people who are weak and marginalised. And we need compassion to help the poor and needy. With good government everybody can live peaceful, quiet, holy and godly lives. Our nation’s leaders need all the help they can get to govern wisely and justly, so we should be praying for them.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth carries a great weight of many responsibilities and she has always given an inspiring example of sacrificial service and deep personal faith. We should be praying for the Queen and for the Royal Family. We will also be praying especially for Charles as he will one day be our King.
We should also be praying for our government, for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and for the Cabinet, for Keir Starmer and the Opposition, and for all MPs including Vicky Ford, our Conservative MP for Chelmsford. Of course, if we want to pray properly for our government we are going to need to know their names.
It is only right that Christians pray for God’s blessing on the country we live in.
Jeremiah 29 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’
We pray so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
Message: “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.”
But then Paul goes on to give us a second reason why we should pray for kings and those in authority.
3 This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
The second reason we pray for kings and all those in authority is because God wants them to be saved. Kings and Queens and rulers and governments and MPs need to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth just as much as anybody else. This is the gospel Paul proclaimed.
5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.
Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin, to bring us back to God. Jesus is the only mediator between human beings and the God who created us all. Jesus is the only way to God. We all need Jesus, from the least to the greatest. Kings and Queens and Rulers and Governors and MPs don’t have any special access to God just because they hold important positions in society. They need Jesus to save them as much as anybody else. Indeed they face particular temptations and challenges because of their positions. It may be harder for them to acknowledge that they need a Saviour. So we need to pray for them, that they will be saved.
We praise God for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s deep faith in God.
‘…billions of people now follow his [Christ’s] teaching and find in him the guiding light for their lives. I am one of them because Christ’s example helps me see the value of doing small things with great love, whoever does them and whatever they themselves believe.’ (2016)
Her Majesty has openly acknowledged Jesus as Saviour.
“Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed. God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general (important though they are) – but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.” (2011)
When we are praying for our Royal Family and for our Government we should be praying that they will all be saved. Indeed, the best way for us to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee will be to spend some time praying for Her Majesty and for the Royal Family. Honour the Queen.
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority,