Why Do We Pray for Authorities ?

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              


Russell Young is a Christian writer, and evidently a pastor and blogger.  I'm not familiar
with him except that his writing appears frequently on a Canadian blog I follow called
"Christianity 201."

He recently wrote a piece there about I Timothy 1:2-3's admonition that we pray for those
in authority.  His comment about God's intent in that prayer seems particularly relevant.

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I urge you, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving
be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful
and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

 "Our authorities are part of our national body and have been put in place by God for the
achievement of his agenda. Prayers and petitions for authorities need not be directed for
partisan political purposes but for enhancement of the Lord’s kingdom within our own nations.
Through the affirmation of his rule believers can enjoy peace and a godly state."



I find Young's comment spot-on: our prayers are in support of God's rule in our nation, not in
support of our nation's ruler.

I'd invite readers to consider if that scripture's use by Franklin Graham and other Christian
"leaders," urging us to pray that God will uphold the current president against his political
"enemies," is in line with God's intent.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Richard Nixon: Corruption and Anti-Semitism

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

NPR's "Marketplace" does an amazing job of making sense of today's economics
and business.  They are even able to make those complexities understandable
to someone, like me, totally ignorant of how "the market" works.

A recent question they dealt with was whether government economic statistics
can be manipulated by politicians, to their purposes.

One historical example they cited was Richard Nixon's successful "cleansing" of
Jews from the Bureau of Labor Statistics after BLS released monthly reports that
he felt made him look bad in the run-up to his 1972 re-election.

The Oval Office tapes he was forced to release during the Watergate investigation
included a July 1971 meeting where Nixon railed to his Chief-of-Staff H. R. Haldeman
against the "Jewish cabal" in BLS he believed was conspiring against him with Jewish
Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns.

Nixon ordered Haldeman to "count how many Jews" were in the BLS, and the Bureau
was re-organized soon afterwards, with two of its top Jewish economists transferred
to other offices.

Fortunately, safeguards were put in place after Watergate to protect the integrity and
independence of BLS data-gathering and reporting.

But I find it interesting that the previously most-corrupt American President, who was
for political purposes a "friend of Israel;" was personally a ranting anti-Semite.

That could well be the character of  the end-time ruler whom we consider (and here
I emphasize "we consider") is anti-Christ.  One of scripture's signal prophecies about
that ruler is that he will make a 7-year covenant with Israel, and break it after three-
and-a-half years (Daniel 9:27).

https://www.marketplace.org/2019/07/03/possible-manipulate-government-statistics/