“Trouble praying?”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Tuesday, May 28, 2024

1 Timothy 1:18 – 2:8 (Forward p. 30) CEV p. 1244 (c. 8:15 a.m.)

No one might suspect this initially, but certain Christians, me included, have trouble carrying out Paul’s injunction in this passage. Why is that? Well, the passage begins with the request that we pray for everyone—yes, that’s everyone, no one excluded. That means even those that we don’t like, don’t appreciate, and don’t get along with.

And, as if that were not stretching things a bit, Paul then tells us to ask God to help and bless them, and to thank God for each of them. Is that an issue, a problem? I know that, for me, some people certainly are a problem, especially those who ungracious or demanding or who have a ‘well-developed’ sense of entitlement. Yes, I do have trouble thanking God for such people and asking God to bless them and help them.

But wait, it gets worse, far worse. We are then told to pray for kings and leaders and all who are in power. Whoa! For many, that is really too much, demanding too much. As a parishioner who absolutely detested the prime minster then in office said, “I’ll pray at him but not for him, and certainly will not thank God for him.”

Paul, however, does not end it there. He then gives us a rationale, a reason why we should pray like this for our leaders: so that we can live quiet and peaceful lives and fittingly worship and honour God. And interestingly, he then adds something as a sort of codicil. He goes on to talk about evangelism and to say that God’s desire for all people everywhere to be saved and to know the full truth about God. (He doesn’t expressly make the connection between this and our prayers for leaders but seems to infer it.)

So, it seems that not just our well-being, but that of others as well, especially in spiritual terms, is in some way dependent upon our prayers. And so, whether we ‘feel like it’ or not, much less like the person, we should make a conscious and deliberate to pray for them, anyway. Thanks be to God.

Forward notes: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone” (chapter 2 v. 1).

“One of my least favourite parts of the Sunday liturgy is the Prayers of the People. It’s not that I don’t like to pray, but something about the Prayers of the People feels like I’m checking off a list to make sure I’m praying for all the people for whom I’m supposed to be praying. At the same time, the requirements in the Book of Common Prayer for the Prayers of the People ensure that we, as a community, are following the instructions that Paul gives to Timothy, at least as far as categories go.

“In my experience, people sometimes struggle with praying for various elected government officials, especially those with whom they vehemently disagree. Even those whose positions I find abhorrent still need our prayers: for wisdom and discernment, to be people of justice and peace, to have their hearts turned to the poor and the needy. Prayer is for everyone, even and especially those we might consider our enemies.”

Moving Forward: “Do you pray by name for your elected officials and other leaders in your communities? Start the practice this week.”