“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

One of the main themes in Paul’s teaching on prayer in 1 Timothy 2:1–4 is praying for those in authority. What was Paul’s aim when he urged the church to pray with an emphasis on authority? In an article from Revive our Hearts (1), Dave Butts writes:

“According to Paul’s reasoning, we want good government that allows us to live ‘peaceful and quiet lives’—ultimately freeing us to evangelize those who are lost. Paul would have been amazed that Christians could someday actually take part in selecting those leaders. I believe he would have been even more amazed (and appalled) that many Christians didn’t even bother to get involved in selecting leaders for the purposes of God to be fulfilled. Praying for the electoral process is the first step in seeing the fulfillment of what Paul is writing about to Timothy. I don’t believe we should wait for a leader to be selected before we move into obedient prayer for those in authority. In prayer, we invite the Lord into the process of electing leaders who will ultimately allow us to lead ‘peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness’—ultimately freeing us to evangelize those who are lost.”

This is a consequential election and it’s right to call the church to do its civic duty and vote our Christian values. But what I think could potentially be a greater problem is that many Christians today seem to be more passionate about seeing their candidate get elected than advancing the kingdom of God through evangelizing the lost and making disciples. That’s called idolatry.

Many Christians today seem to be more passionate about seeing their candidate get elected than advancing the kingdom of God through evangelizing the lost and making disciples. That’s called idolatry.

I have much more concern for the elect than the elections. Are the elect (those chosen in Christ to live holy lives) fulfilling the Great Commission? If the candidate of our choice gets elected, will that make Christians more passionate about sharing Jesus with their neighbors? Vance Pitman put it this way: “I’m way more concerned not with who Christians vote for but how they treat lost people who vote differently than they do.” I appreciate what my mentor Daniel Henderson often says: “The problem in our world is not the pervasiveness of the darkness but the absence of the light.”

“The problem in our world is not the pervasiveness of the darkness but the absence of the light.” – Daniel Henderson

What is most shaping the hearts and minds of Christians today? I believe it’s a corrupt media, not the glory of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:3-4). Sadly, CNN and Fox News, in my estimation, seem to be influencing the minds of people more than the word of God, including the average lukewarm Christian.

If a person has been coming to the church I pastor on a regular basis, they will know where I stand on issues of righteousness and godliness. They would know that I’m pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-raising our kids without government interference, and pro-protecting children from evil ideologies, like transgenderism. More than that, they would know that I believe our ultimate hope and salvation is not found in the White House, but in the only mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).

Our ultimate hope and salvation is not found in the White House, but in the only mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

But Christians need to do more than listen to the word preached once a week—they need to go hard after God daily and seek His strength to be godly witnesses for Christ in their circles of influence.

The word of God urges us to pray for our government leaders, and we can correctly apply that to praying for the upcoming elections. But Paul gives this reason or aim:

“…that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:2-4).

We want to pray for elected leaders to lead and make righteous decisions that would give us greater freedom to live peacefully—to live righteously, and to give ourselves to the redemptive plans of Christ so that people can come to a saving knowledge of Jesus.

Should we be concerned about losing the freedoms that we have today and taking back some that have already been lost? Yes! But what are we doing with our freedoms now? Our country still has much more freedom than many other nations to live godly lives, raise our children to live godly lives without government interference, and share the hope of Christ with others. And if we gain more freedom after the elections, and become more prosperous, what are we going to be doing with more freedom and prosperity?

If we have less freedom and prosperity after the elections than we do now, will that give us an excuse not to live godly lives or to be on mission for Christ? I want to submit to you that if you’re lukewarm about the things of God today, you’ll still be lukewarm after the elections. The elections may just be a big distraction from what you most need to be focusing on—pursuing intimacy with God that leads to the accomplishment of His purposes, no matter the cost.

God willing, we’ll be baptizing four young adults at our church on November 10. They are all new believers who have new hearts and minds. They’ve been set free in Christ from the power and penalty of sin. Only the gospel can change the hearts and minds of people to live for godliness. While the elections loom large on many minds today, what those young believers need most is to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus so that they will be devoted to Christ and willing to sacrifice for His cause, no matter who gets elected.

As my friend, Pastor Troy Keaton, explained: “We must pray if we want peace and blessing during this election season. Whatever happens on Tuesday (and I am praying about it specifically every day), my greatest desire is that there would be an evangelistic harvest in our nation through the work of [the church]. The greatest thing that could happen to our country is that men and women would be saved from sin and ‘come to the knowledge of the truth.’”

Lord, let that be so in ALL people. May Donald Trump, JD Vance, Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and every person in this nation humbly bow before you as Lord and Savior and be set free by the power of your eternal truth!

So, as God’s word urges, pray for the elect and the elections. Do your civic duty and vote Christian values. But most of all, place all your hope in King Jesus.

As God’s word urges, pray for the elect and the elections. Do your civic duty and vote Christian values. But most of all, place all your hope in King Jesus.

Copyright ©2024 Marco David. All rights reserved.  

(1) https://www.reviveourhearts.com/articles/how-pray-upcoming-election/