Prayer and Prepare

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:1-4)

Last week, I had the privilege of praying at the start of the Monday session of the Arizona House of Representatives. Here was my prayer: “Lord God, I come before you today and pray for Your wisdom and guidance for these members of the Arizona House of Representatives. May the decisions they make on behalf of the people of Arizona reflect your justice and righteousness. In praying for these Representatives, I echo the words of Psalm 72 as King David of ancient Israel prayed for his own son, Solomon, to be a godly leader: ‘Endow these [leaders] with your justice, O God… May they defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy... May they deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. May they take pity on the weak and the needy and save them from death.’ And, I also pray from the prophetic word of Isaiah 58… ‘If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.’ … I pray all of this in the name that is above every name, Amen.” Afterwards, Representative Edward Ableser gave each of his colleagues a page of justice scriptures I had brought.

This week on Wednesday, the Arizona House and Senate sent the Governor a budget with deep cuts to education, healthcare, and human services. In my e-mail and blog entry at the end of May, I discussed my concerns about these proposed cuts and their negative impact on children, the poor, and the vulnerable. (See also the challenging commentary by Laurie Roberts in the Arizona Republic from June 26 at http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/LaurieRoberts/56351; we who are pro-life must take her challenge seriously, to protect the lives of children both unborn and born, and to be concerned for the well being of their families.) Governor Brewer is using her line-item veto on this budget and calling the Legislature back into a special session. We must continue in our prayers for these leaders during this critical time.

Of course, our prayers should be for “all those in authority” – our President and Congressional Leaders, our Governor and Legislative Leaders, for Administrators who must carry out legislative mandates, and for Judges at every level of government who will judge the constitutionality of these mandates. Whether or not we see immediate and tangible results, we are called to prayer. (Remember the context of Paul’s exhortation to his disciple Timothy to pray for “kings and all those in authority” – the supreme king or Caesar of the Roman Empire was the truly wicked tyrant Nero, so we have no biblical reasons not to pray for our leaders, whether or not we agree with or support their positions.)

Now, besides prayer, we are also called to prepare -- we must prepare for even greater needs for food, clothing, shelter, and other care for “the least of these” (please read all of Matthew 25:31-46). In weeks to come, I will be sharing great examples of how the Christian community is responding and serving, even as we make “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving … for everyone.”