Paul seems to envision a kind of torrent of prayer going up to God on behalf of the leaders of the community and the world. What a great privilege to be entrusted with this duty! Today’s excerpt from If Men Will Pray is found on page 18:
“Not only does Paul command the men of the Church to pursue a disciplined life of ongoing and fervent prayer, he also instructs us concerning the focus of those prayers. Christian men must devote themselves to prayer for all people, in particular, for civil authorities and others who hold places of influence in society.
“Whom might that include? Government officials at all levels, to be sure. But also pastors, school teachers, university professors, writers and pundits, leaders in the business and professional arenas, directors on boards of various kinds, heads of households, and so forth.
“Paul’s vision is of a torrent of prayer, going up continuously from the men of the Church on behalf of all people, and especially, the leaders of communities and nations. I rather suspect that we are a long way from anything like this being in place among the men in the churches today. Getting to this involves two very large challenges.
“The first is getting men to pray.”
For reflection or discussion
1. How many names of officials, teachers, leaders, and other people of influence in your community do you know? How should you pray for these folks?
2. Whom can you recruit to join you in praying for these people?
Praying for leaders and people of influence is important, almost as important as praying for our church, pastors, fellow church members, and our neighbors. We need to broaden the horizons of our prayers if we’re going to have the kind of impact Paul envisioned. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to discuss your commitment to prayer. You can order If Men Will Pray from The Ailbe Bookstore.
T. M. Moore
