You can apply that question to your own country.
Me, I am a citizen of the USA.
How should we pray for our country?
Now suppose that everyone repented of the current moral decline, slouching towards Sodom, & our baby-murder holocaust. So then the majority became church members going to church generally endorsing Biblical morality, the Bible, & Christ -- as it used to be! But, suppose at the same time, most of those "church members" were just cultural Christians, going to the Lake of Fire just as assuredly as the doctor who slices up babies for money. The nation would be better off judged as a nation in real time (as we know it) history. But their final destiny after this short life would be basically the same; that is, the Lake of Fire.
We have no national covenant with YHWH like Israel did. We are not "My people who are called by My name." I don't think we ever were, though we were nominally Christian.
Or should we just shrug our shoulders and limit ourselves to evangelizing individuals, praying for individuals to be saved with the power of the Spirit manifest?
Which Zeitgeist is more conducive to salvation? Or does it depend on the Zeitgeist? Having the doctrines of humanism spread as politically correct, having children brain-washed in them, does not seem conducive to salvation. The evangelist may have to spend more time on proclaiming just who the Lord Jesus is and what He has done. The Biblical morality may have to be preached as the school-master "law" to lead persons to Christ via moral despair. But on the other hand, what better way to harden the heart vs the gospel than to teach cultural professed (not born-again) "Christians" that they are Christians. Why how dare you evangelize me; I am a church member in regular attendance who believes in the Sheep/Goat Judgment with salvation by works.
2:1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men; 2 for kings and all that are in high place; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life [ ἤρεμον καὶ ἡσύχιον βίον ]
in all godliness and gravity.
I suppose that prayer might be offensive to some post-tribbers who want the Church to go through the tribulation (lest the Church be chicken)?
BDAG Lexicon on "quiet" (hēsychion) above says:
"Here ἡσ. prob.= without turmoil."
ἤρεμον καὶ ἡσύχιον βίον.
In this prayer, the request is for men & rulers -- but the beneficiaries are Christians.
One way to pray would be like Elijah who prayed for no rain (& thus consequent famine). It was followed by him praying for rain, killing the prophets of Baal, & Elijah running away from the Queen, sitting under a Juniper tree praying for God to take away his life! It was taken away, but evidently by a rapture.
Shall we sit under the juniper tree & pray for the Rapture?
He did get 3 final tasks to perform before he would leave.
So Baal was at least temporarily largely wiped out in N Israel, and wicked King Ahab did do some repentance. But there was no stopping idolatry or general wickedness recorded.
So how should we pray for our nation?
Me, I am a citizen of the USA.
How should we pray for our country?
Now suppose that everyone repented of the current moral decline, slouching towards Sodom, & our baby-murder holocaust. So then the majority became church members going to church generally endorsing Biblical morality, the Bible, & Christ -- as it used to be! But, suppose at the same time, most of those "church members" were just cultural Christians, going to the Lake of Fire just as assuredly as the doctor who slices up babies for money. The nation would be better off judged as a nation in real time (as we know it) history. But their final destiny after this short life would be basically the same; that is, the Lake of Fire.
We have no national covenant with YHWH like Israel did. We are not "My people who are called by My name." I don't think we ever were, though we were nominally Christian.
Or should we just shrug our shoulders and limit ourselves to evangelizing individuals, praying for individuals to be saved with the power of the Spirit manifest?
Which Zeitgeist is more conducive to salvation? Or does it depend on the Zeitgeist? Having the doctrines of humanism spread as politically correct, having children brain-washed in them, does not seem conducive to salvation. The evangelist may have to spend more time on proclaiming just who the Lord Jesus is and what He has done. The Biblical morality may have to be preached as the school-master "law" to lead persons to Christ via moral despair. But on the other hand, what better way to harden the heart vs the gospel than to teach cultural professed (not born-again) "Christians" that they are Christians. Why how dare you evangelize me; I am a church member in regular attendance who believes in the Sheep/Goat Judgment with salvation by works.
2:1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men; 2 for kings and all that are in high place; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life [ ἤρεμον καὶ ἡσύχιον βίον ]
in all godliness and gravity.
I suppose that prayer might be offensive to some post-tribbers who want the Church to go through the tribulation (lest the Church be chicken)?
BDAG Lexicon on "quiet" (hēsychion) above says:
"Here ἡσ. prob.= without turmoil."
ἤρεμον καὶ ἡσύχιον βίον.
In this prayer, the request is for men & rulers -- but the beneficiaries are Christians.
One way to pray would be like Elijah who prayed for no rain (& thus consequent famine). It was followed by him praying for rain, killing the prophets of Baal, & Elijah running away from the Queen, sitting under a Juniper tree praying for God to take away his life! It was taken away, but evidently by a rapture.
Shall we sit under the juniper tree & pray for the Rapture?
He did get 3 final tasks to perform before he would leave.
So Baal was at least temporarily largely wiped out in N Israel, and wicked King Ahab did do some repentance. But there was no stopping idolatry or general wickedness recorded.
So how should we pray for our nation?
