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Ask Pastor John

Why Do We Pray for Our President?

Ask Pastor John

Desiring God

John Piper, Unknown, 163859, Pastor, Ask, Theology, Desiring God, Religion & Spirituality/christianity, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Questions

4.83.8K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2023

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Why does Paul call Christians to pray for kings and other political rulers — and what specifically might we ask God to do in them and through them?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome back to the podcast. Welcome to June. June 1st, a Thursday, our first Thursday episode

0:10.0

in a long time. But now part of our new routine here on the podcast, at least for the season

0:14.8

ahead, you can now expect ABJ episodes on Mondays and on Thursdays two times a week. No

0:21.5

more sermon clip Wednesdays. John Piper's sermons are now being curated in a new podcast

0:27.3

from Desiring God called Light and Truth. Light and Truth. So if you want your five days a week

0:33.6

fill of John Piper sermons, old sermons and new sermons, subscribe to our new podcast. Light and

0:39.1

truth. And I'm sure many of you already have. But on this Thursday episode, we're back in

0:44.5

studio with Pastor John to feel the question from Dustin in Indianapolis in the end. He writes this

0:49.6

Pastor John. Hello. In light of first Timothy two versus one to four, how are we to pray for

0:54.8

unrighteous leaders? How about presidents and other politicians? How do you do it? And what

1:02.1

specifically do you pray for? Let's read the text that Dustin is referring to so that we can

1:10.7

be specific. It's first Timothy to one to four I'll read. First of all then, I urge that

1:17.9

supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanks-givings be made for all people, for kings,

1:27.6

and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified

1:35.9

in every way. This is good. And he is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all

1:43.3

people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. So Paul is calling for Christians to

1:51.9

pray for all people. We focus on the kings, but it says all people are urged that supplications,

1:59.1

prayers, intercessions, thanks-givings be made for all people. And then the kings and all those in

2:05.5

high positions are a subset of all people. They are mentioned explicitly, I think, because

2:16.0

they are especially relevant for the purpose of the prayer mentioned in the next clause,

2:21.6

namely that we may lead a life that's peaceful and quiet, godly, dignified in every way.

2:29.4

So I take the all people to mean that wherever we look in the world and see people who might in

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