Thursday, February 16, 2012
The state of our souls
A few weeks ago, when the President gave the State of the Union address I did not watch it. I follow the news pretty closely and did not anticipate learning anything new. And, I must confess, I thought it would only make me mad.
I really struggle with my attitude toward our national leaders, and our local leaders. The Bible tells us, "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
So, when my wife and I were in our car, listening to the local Christian radio station, I was quite arrested by the radio announcer praying for our country and its leaders, with all sincerity. In spite of my dissatisfaction with our local and national state of governing affairs, I was struck with the idea of how much worse things might be without those who are praying. Who knows what evils are being held back by the relative few who are carrying this burden of prayer?
According to Paul's letter to Timothy, the goal of those prayers is, "that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." Our godliness and dignity are particularly tested because we, as citizens of a democratic republic, share the burden of governing through our own Constitutionally protected participation. After all, Ephesus and Palestine were not "red states" that voted for Caesar. You couldn't harbor ill will toward your neighbor for voting for a particular bloody dictator.
For this reason, we are not just praying for our leaders here in America. We are also praying for our neighbors, who we want to be saved. We must keep our own souls from becoming soiled with a bad attitude toward people with offensive bumper stickers. On the bright side, at least our fellow citizens are wearing labels that may help us to pray for them while they are in traffic!
Let us be able to report that it is well with our souls, regardless of what is going on around us. It makes us able and likely to pray in our nation's time of need.
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I often find myself irritated with the direction of our leaders as well; it does make it difficult to effectively pray for them. I don't think as many are praying for our leaders as should be, and I must admit I find it hard to be counted among those that do. My prayers are usually limited to "Father, be merciful." What calls itself the church is no longer a moral force in this country, and has sold out to modernism and relativism; they await the "Great Escape" when they won't have to deal with these things anymore. They'd better pray they are correct in their doctrinal assumptions... not that it will help. On the flip side of that, there is a true Body that dutifully awaits the End and follows their Master's instructions. They pray and "watch" for the signs of the times, and as you put it, "Who knows what evils are being held back by the relative few who are carrying this burden of prayer?" I pray to be found among them...
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