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Intention

Examine our hearts and see if we have put misplaced trust in our government, expecting it, instead of God, to care for us. If we have, we must repent of that idolatry before interceding in prayer.

Scripture

“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake,
whether to the king as supreme, or to governors,
as to those who are sent by Him for the punishment of evildoers
and for the praise of those who do good.”
— 1 Peter 2:13-14 (NKJV)

“For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil.
Do you want to be unafraid of the authority?
Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid;
for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister,
an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.”
– Romans 13:3-4 (NKJV)

Reflection

These verses encourage us to be law-abiding citizens under God. If the laws of the government contradict God’s commands, then as Christians, we must obey God.

Throughout scripture, we see instances of people who were forced to make that choice when confronted with laws and directives that contradicted God’s command — from Daniel refusing to bow down to an image, to Peter refusing to stop speaking about Jesus, to Paul who was arrested for being a public nuisance by causing the people to riot. We also see this happening today in countries where the Christian faith is outlawed: Christians meet in secret, worship and sing together, break bread together, and encourage one another.

Recently, I spoke to a retired lady who had had a long professional career. We were discussing the impact of the pandemic and how she felt that the government had massively overreached its boundaries of governing through implementing mandates. Her final statement stuck with me when she sighed, “Well, that was another idol in my life that fell.” She then explained that her long-established trust in the government to be out for her best interests had been shattered.

That was the first time I had ever considered that misplaced trust in the government as our provider and protector could be idolatry.

I have spoken to many people during the pandemic and noticed a consistent theme that agrees with this dear lady, so the idea of idolatry has really challenged me. Many of us have been faced with an existential crisis, a journey of coming to awareness through a difficult circumstance or trial, where perhaps the pillars of our idolatry came smashing down around us. Whether through the pandemic, a loss, or even a natural disaster like the floods that hit twice in the Northern Rivers where I live.

Have I placed my trust in something or someone other than God to take care of me?

According to 1 Peter 2:13-14 and Romans 13:3-4, the government’s role should be more focussed on punishing evil and praising good rather than providing us with the safety and comforts of goods and services. However, today, we depend far more upon the government to be looking out for us and providing remedies and finances for the ever-increasing family and societal problems we are facing — many of them spiritual.

Some are even purporting that Christians are far more eager to have right standing with the government than with God and are, therefore, compromising their Christian values as if the government is the absolute authority on life and morality.

We must give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but our allegiance is to God.

Let us, then, examine our hearts before we pray. We must soberly consider the government not as a saviour that will take care of us and enable us to acquire more benefits, but as an instrument to punish evil and praise the good, to defend citizens’ God-given natural and Constitutional rights.

To exercise the power to punish evil and praise good, our MPs must understand what is good and what is evil or else we may find that our government is calling good evil and evil good.

Video

Prayer

Father,

We would be the most miserable people in the world if our hopes were only in this life because we know that we are hopeless without Christ’s righteousness. Therefore, in humility, we repent of placing our hope in anything else but You, as this is idolatry. We confess that if we had all things that a person could desire on earth, it would do us no good without Christ’s righteousness.

And now Father, You know that we desperately need good men and good women in government who are not swayed by the fear of man, or the enticements of power and wealth. We therefore humbly ask for wisdom, to discern those candidates whose hearts bend toward righteousness. And we pray for these candidates, that they would be brought to the fore and receive the favour of the vote. We ask this in Christ our Saviour’s name.

Amen.

Author Bio

Cindy McGarvie is the National Director of Youth for Christ Australia. She met her husband, Rod, in the Australian Army, and together they went on to serve as missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators for twelve years, raising five children on the mission field. Cindy and her husband live in Brisbane, Australia.

21 Days Prayer Points

1. Pray that God would rule over this election, that righteous leaders would be elected to govern this nation in truth and justice because, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.” Proverbs 29:2
2. Pray God’s blessing upon all our current parliamentarians and leaders, including their families and all the candidates of all the parties standing for this federal election. 1 Timothy 2:1-3
3. Pray for a multiplication of prayer and unity across the Body of Christ in Australia, that people will wake up to the dangers facing our nation and respond in prayer. Ephesians 5:14
4. Pray for a Revival for Australia, Spiritual Awakening and Transformation for our nation, and the proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:16

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