First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

1 Timothy 2:1-2

In just a few minutes, Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. As our country marks this historic moment, I’m hopeful that followers of Jesus will listen to the urging of the Apostle Paul and pray for our new President. As followers of Christ, we’re called to pray for our leaders – at all levels of government and from both parties.

My guess is that most of us know that. I know that at our church, we have prayed regularly for our local, state, and federal leaders as we’ve navigated a pandemic, racial injustice, and the recent violence on Capitol Hill. But I think we often lose sight of the purposes that should shape how we pray for our leaders. Notice, Paul urges us to pray “so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” He has three specific purposes in mind:

• A tranquil and quiet life. Paul prays that political leaders will work together to allow our national life to be peaceful and well-ordered. He doesn’t want government to be a source of chaos in our lives and division in our communities. I’m sure Paul would be all for thoughtful, robust political debate. But we should be able to do that in a way that contributes to a tranquil and well-ordered community.

• Godliness. Paul prays that Christians will be able to live with our highest loyalty and deepest devotion to God. Our ultimate allegiance isn’t to a political leader but to the One who reigns on a throne that will have no end. We’re to represent that King and be ambassadors of His Kingdom as we engage in our civic life. So, Paul prays that our government would never come between us and our God.

• Dignity. The word Paul uses here is interesting – it’s about the church behaving in a way “that indicates one is above what is ordinary and therefore worthy of special respect.” (BDAG, 919) Wouldn’t it be great if that word characterized followers of Jesus?

Paul essentially turns prayer for our leaders into a prayer for the church. So, as we pray for President Biden today, let’s do it with a resolve to exemplify the purposes that Paul highlights for us as the church.