The passage 1 Timothy 2:1-4 says: I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

This passage really hit me this morning because I woke up to head out on my run and the first thing I saw was a number of notifications on my phone. I scrolled the list and each notification was like another punch. There were new updates on another mass shooting, there were sensationalized quotes from politicians about the midterm elections being highlighted by Twitter, Updates about all the things Kanye West is being canceled from this week, and there was a YouTube notification about a new video around Camp Hope, the homeless encampment near my office.

I walked out the door already feeling a bit defeated and depressed today. Why bother running and working out when the world is falling apart? Surrounded by so much evil, why even bother? Our region is a mess, our country is a mess, and our world is even worse. As I started my run I flipped on a podcast at random and it was on all of these same topics. The podcast was a business podcast but the host was talking about cancel culture, the vaccine, and all of these political talking points. While great points were made, it didn’t make me feel a bit better. In fact, it made me feel more anxious and more helpless. Listening to the podcast host talk, he is convinced that this coming election is a make-or-break point for our country. His view is that if democrats are elected that our economy will be driven to a place it can’t recover from and that may even happen if they aren’t. It was a lot before 5 am. So much so that I turned it off! I turned it all off and instead listened to a little piano music and started thinking about how I can make a difference. 

Our world is a mess of what it used to be. Our society has driven us to be a bunch of wussies that basically shame each other. It isn’t right. It isn’t what God wants for us. I am certain of that. When I walked back in the door and sat down to read my Bible today I was feeling extremely defeated but these verses brought me out of that and to a much healthier place. 

I may not be able to snap my fingers and fix the world’s problems but I know who can. I am friends with the person that has already won and instead of lamenting over the thing I can’t change or what I have to experience I can push that aside and I can pray. I can pray just as these verses implore me to do. I can pray for all people. Believers and non-believers. I can pray for my friends and my enemies. I can pray for our leaders. I can pray for our world and. There is nothing stopping me from interceding on behalf of goodness and righteousness and while I can’t control the outcome I am not helpless either! 

I want to see God’s will done on earth and I can participate in that through prayer. With God on my side I am never truly helpless nor is hope lost. What a huge encouragement that was for me this morning. I am walking a thousand times lighter just remembering that I am part of the winning team and my leader isn’t a democrat or a republican but my leader is Jesus.