Praying for leaders, can bring many questions

Scripture Read: 1 Timothy 2:8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

Application: What a connection of actions that seems to not make sense! Lifting holy hands in prayer, yet warning that it not be done with wrath and dissension. How could this be? Father, this is what I love about Your word, it is so honest! We must remember the context here; Paul is exhorting us to pray for everyone, especially our leaders. Who is like You Oh Lord that understands the heart of men? We may set out to pray for our leaders, but if not careful our emotions can seize control and before we know it, inside is a great struggle concerning how we are praying and what we are praying for. The two words used here communicate the real problem.

Wrath - ὀργή orgḗ; Wrath, anger as a state of mind. Aristotle says that orgḗ, anger, is desire with grief (cf. Mark 3:5; Rom. 12:19; Eph. 4:31; Col. 3:8)

There are leaders that by their action make us so angry that we might approach You Lord with our mind controlled by anger. The dangerous part of this is we might only think that anger is toward the leader, but a subtler villain lurks deep within our thinking. We may be angry with You for allowing this person to be a leader. Much like Jonah, who knew You would be merciful and did not want mercy for the enemies of his people. We must take the time to thank You for Your workings in our world and then pray for that leader, knowing that no matter what He has done, You placed him in this position and will hold him accountable for that. The other word brings us full circle in our battle with our emotions:

Dissension -  διαλογισμός dialogismós; In the sense of dispute, debate, contention (Mark 9:33, 34 in its verbal form; Luke 9:46; Phil. 2:14; 1 Tim. 2:8).^[1] It can also be used for “anxious reflection” or “doubt.” Torturing doubts are denoted in Lk. 24:38. In R. 14:1: μὴ εἰς διακρίσεις διαλογισμῶν there is to be no disputing about trifles. Similarly, the command in Phil. 2:14: πάντα ποιεῖτε Χωρὶς γογγυσμῶν καὶ διαλογισμῶν, refers to murmuring and doubt, In 1 Tm. 2:8: Χωρὶς ὀργῆς καὶ διαλογισμοῦ, the translation “without wrath or disputing”⁴ yields good sense, but διαλογισμός does not have to be contention. We thus do better to follow the linguistic instinct of the Greek exegetes and interpret διαλογισμός as doubt or questioning. This also has the advantage of giving a wider range to the admonition.^[2]

How contentious doubt can be! It is clear from scripture that questioning is human and You have many examples in Your word that show You are open for us to question what is going on and even why, but doubt is another animal. Doubt questions Your integrity and Your motives. This is dangerous territory for us because the enemy prowls like a lion waiting to feed the doubts. He loves trying to accuse You to us as someone unloving and not concerned. The truth is Satan tries to cast You as he is in reality! Everything he tries to convict You of in the courts of our heart is in reality true about him. The entire ego, the selfishness, self-glory and self-seeking. We must pause as we pray for those that have such power to do so much evil, and remind ourselves Who really is in control and remember Your Son gave Himself for all, including these leaders. Our knowledge of these truths should control our emotions concerning the circumstances.

Meditation Questions: Do you see a difference is questioning God and doubting God? How would you define it? Do you have a line drawn in your thinking where your questioning ends and doubt begins? What will questioning God do to you? What will doubting God do to you? Do you pray for your leaders? When you pray for them, what do you pray for? How hard is it for you to pray for leaders you think are evil? What should you do about that?  

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^[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary : New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.

^[2] Theological dictionary of the New Testament. 1964- (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, Ed.) (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.