No Selfish Prayers: Sunday Devotion

1 Timothy 2:1-4 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. 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. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

On last week, I was feeling sorry for myself, laying in the hospital, helpless and dependent on others for my care. I had become quite good at throwing pity parties for myself. All my focus was on myself, and it was as if I alone had troubles in this world.

Then, I started praying for all the other patients, President Biden and Vice President Harris, and people dealing with all manner of issues in these still difficult days. Taking the focus off myself made me realize that there were so many people in worst shape, and that for me to ask God to drop all their needs and concentrate only on my needs was both selfish and not godly.

Then, as if God the Father was in confirmation with me, I opened my K-love Verse of the Day and it was 1 Timothy 2:1, reminding us to pray for all people. I had to smile, for I am assured that God has a wonderful sense of humor.

So, today, stop and pray for everyone. No one on this planet is absent problems. Even if you disagree with policies, remember to pray for the men and women who make policies that impact the lives of all Americans, for they need to be guided by a force greater than any human being. And pray across race, ethnicity, age, social class, immigrant status, gender, or any other categories that tend to divide us.

When we focus our prayers on others, we might be surprised to find that we can overcome some of our biases by remembering that we are all human beings trying to make it through a journey in which we have so little control over things like health and death. Everybody needs the Lord God. That is just the truth.