Come Up Here And See

Recently, I heard an elderly television evangelist say that if you came to his house, you would not find a television. The reason is that the Holy Spirit told him to cancel Netflix, Direct TV, and cable and he obeyed.

He said at night he reads church history.  He has read through Foxe’s Book of Martyrs four times, and he says that nothing will change your life like that. A martyr is a person who is killed because of their beliefs, for their faith in Jesus Christ.

After I heard that, I began rereading my Jesus Freaks books by dc Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs. These books tell the stories of those who stood for Jesus, the ultimate Jesus Freaks. Some stories are from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and stories of Martyrs from that time on.

As I read through some of these stories, how government shifts impact our society was revealed to me.

I believe in Paul’s strong advocation to Timothy on prayer. He wanted Timothy to teach his congregation that we are to give thanks, intercede and pray on behalf of all men.  Paul does not tell us to pray first for the sick, the missionary, the evangelist or even broken families. The first group we are to pray for is kings and all authorities. In modern speech, we are to pray for our government first.

• 1 Timothy 2:1-4 CEB First of all, then, I ask that requests, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be made for all people. ² Pray for kings and everyone who is in authority so that we can live a quiet and peaceful life in complete godliness and dignity. ³ This is right, and it pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

We pray for our government so that we can live a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and reverence or respectfulness. In other words, we are praying that the government will do its job properly.  We are praying for good government.

The next verse says why we are praying for good government is that is good, and it pleases the Lord. Good government is God’s will. Each person would have their definition of what good government is, but we must ask what God’s standards for government are. I know that God loves righteousness and hates lawlessness. So obviously if laws are being passed that do not protect the unborn or life then it is wicked according to God. In my country, there have been pastors imprisoned for preaching freedom, and churches burned. Laws have been passed to take parental rights away and gender change is protected and provided. This is not considered righteous in God’s sight, so it is not good government.

• Hebrews 1:9 NKJV You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;

Why does God approve of good government? Verse 4 says that God desires all people to come to the knowledge of the truth. People are not able to come to the knowledge of the truth unless the truth of the Gospel is presented to them. So, we then can ask ourselves which is the easiest way to proclaim the Gospel: good government or bad government? All we must do is look at history and see that bad government hinders the preaching of the Gospel. Good government will allow the preaching of the good news of the Gospel. The revealed will of God from the scripture found in 1 Timothy is good government.

Derek Prince’s “Secrets of a Prayer Warrior” explains that the two highest roles God gave to mankind are kings and priests to God the Father. As a Kingdom of priests, we know we are accountable to rule the world for God by our prayers. We approach God in reverent submission by renouncing our will and bowing to His will with faith. We also study the Word of God, so we are praying according to the Will of God. By studying this scripture with other scriptures, we easily discern that good government is God’s will. Therefore, when we pray for good government, we know that God hears us.

• Revelation 1:5-6 NKJV and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶ and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
• Titus 3:1 ESV Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
• Matthew 6:10 NASB Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
• John 15:7 ESV If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Derek Prince says that if we do not have good government, and he clearly says that each one must decide if our government is effective and efficient. Derek says there are two only possible reasons if we believe the Bible is true.

The first reason is that we have not prayed as we ought to be. What Derek has seen, and I have also experienced because I ran for office four times is that Christians do not pray with a real concern for our country. All they could offer was criticism. There is no authority in scripture to criticize the government but there is a responsibility to pray for good government.

The second reason is that we do believe that God’s will for our country is to have a good government. We find it impossible to believe that this could depend on my prayers. We have told ourselves that no way could my prayers change my nation. We may have tried to pray before once or twice and nothing seemed to happen, so we give up praying. We criticize and we do not vote. We say what is the use, because nothing works so we fail to rule in God’s Kingdom as kings and priests to the Lord.

I believe that the answer is found in scripture, and we must be obedient.

• 2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

As Christ’s followers, we are to renounce our will and submit to God and pray. Then we are to seek His face, which means to keep seeking the Lord until we know that we have spent time with Him. We must allow the Holy Spirit to convict us and turn from any sin or wicked way in us. Once we have done this then God promises that He will hear us, forgive us of our sins and heal our land. Oh, that is so exciting. We know that God’s promises are yes and amen. At the same time, our Christian faith is one of responsibility and maturing that we will be obedient to do as He says.

I want to encourage you that when you pray God hears you. As you are praying for your government to be blessed and make good decisions God is answering your prayers. Do not give up praying for your government. Be faithful to pray as God directs and thank God that He hears and answers.

Spirit of the Living God, I pray that You would inspire us today in our prayers. Guide us and direct us that we pray God’s will for our country today. Continue to remind us of the scriptures that tell us that You can do far more than abundantly of anything we could ask or think. Thank you, Lord, that You are able, in Jesus’ name, amen.   

Like, subscribe, review, and share with others to encourage them how to pray for their government.

Photo Credit to Tyler Nix