Prayer fo the authorities

“I know that you can do all things” Job admits to God in chapter 42 of the Old Testament epic that chronicles his struggle to understand the reasons behind his suffering. After 41 chapters of thinking that he knows best, he finally admits that God’s the only one who has any kind of sustainable design for his life – and that it is not his right to know what it is. “…No purpose of yours can be thwarted”, he continues. “Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me which I did not know”. Few, if any, Bible passages, so eloquently convey man’s complete insignificance when juxtaposed with the works and purposes of God. And if anything emerges from Job’s absolute submission to his Lord’s will, it’s the ultimate futility of his questioning God’s providence. God is in charge; and we need to accept that fact. It is with this (admittedly rather substantial) truth in mind that the Eglise Reformée du Marais has come to organise a series of three Tuesday evening devoted to ‘prayer for the authorities’. The idea of ‘praying for the authorities’ was to place in God’s hands the ‘powers that be’ of this world, whether in France, Europe or the International Community at large. The series has been divided into three thematic categories: prayer for medico-social, intellectual and educative authorities, on Tuesday 27th February; prayer for the political, legislative and judicial authorities on Tuesday 27th March; and prayer for religious authorities, which will take place on Tuesday 24th April. And so the last two months have seen us offering up to God in prayer not only this year’s presidential candidates – the ‘presidential race’ being France’s most pressing concern at the moment – but also the less conspicuous parts of the French and International establishment, including those areas in which members of the Church are professionally involved. We were memorably led in worship by the Choeur Gospel de Paris, which has its base here in the church. The Holy Spirit worked though both the wonderful voices and inspirational arrangements of some quite eclectic worship material in order to make His presence among us known. Georges – the choir’s energetic leader – reminded us all that meeting with God really is a fun, downright joyful experience. Following about half an hour of praising God to such exhortations as ‘Are there any ladies in the church tonight? If there are, I want to hear you praise God!’, we divided into small groups to pray. Our prayers were focused through the assignment of a fairly specific remit to each group. Last Tuesday, for example, one group was asked to pray for France’s executive authorities (the people who make the laws); another was asked to prayer for France’s legislative authorities (the people who pass the laws); and another still was given the task of praying for the judiciary (those who enforce the law). A fourth group dealt with prayer for the European Union, the United Nations and other international bodies. Even with these clear (and very helpful) guidelines, the task seemed daunting. Where to start? Fortunately (and as always), the Holy Spirit was there to guide us. Instead of praying in terms of vague generalities, we found ourselves directed – to my surprise – to specific matters: matters which reflected wider problems and more global issues, but which allowed a clear, sincere and impassioned dialogue with God. I was also surprised at the way in which we were all able to lay aside our partisan politics and prejudices, united in our single request that the Lord’s will be done in everything we prayed about. The result has, so far, been the passage of two very fruitful evenings. I have to admit to having been initially sceptical about the idea of ‘praying for the authorities’, seeing it rather as a case of a sling-less David taking on a behemoth Goliath. But God quickly changed my outlook. Our time of ‘prayer for the authorities’ has been an extremely rich one, actively directed by the Holy Spirit and filled with a real sense that prayer does work…on the largest possible scales as a well on the smallest ones. France needs prayer at the moment. The French people go to the polls for the first round of the Presidential elections in two weeks. Any predictions as to the result – clouded as they are by a recent riot at the Gare du Nord here in Paris – remain inconclusive. Pollsters paint a picture of a France in a skittish mood, and refuse to rule out the possibility of a repeat of 2002’s alarming outcome, in which the extreme rightist Jean-Marie Le Pen clinched second place. In spite of a tenacious attachment to the ‘French social model’ - one values community over individualism and solidarity over free-reign enterprise – there is a sense, in most corners of French society, that change of some kind is needed. The Presidency, it seems, has remained too detached from the French people for too long. In the economic sphere, a rate of unemployment that is only marginally shy of 10% continues to undermine social cohesion. France is faced with a quite bewildering array of candidates, advocating everything from a Trotskyist approach to employment legislation to neo-Thatcherist reform. Even as a bystander, I find political ideology and partisanship hard to avoid. But we worship a God Who is the ‘King of Kings’ and the ‘Lord of Lords’; the One who not only puts rulers on their thrones, but removes them when their designated time is up. He is a God who exists above and beyond everything, from grand, ‘world-changing’ ideas to petty party politics. With this in mind, our prayers for Paris need to focus, above and beyond everything, on God’s will being done, no matter how inexplicable or uncomfortable the outcome of the next few weeks might be. Above all, what the French people needs is not more employment or more social cohesion – these nevertheless being admirable things in themselves – but a living, real relationship with Jesus Christ and a life lived in the light of His Gospel. Pray that God would bless a country and a people which He loves – and, given that He gave an Israelite shepherd boy with a sling and a few stones the strength to defeat a Philistine giant, expect the unexpected.