Pray for Government

 

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016
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THE BIBLE

 

PSALMS

 

147:5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

19:7  The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

8  The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

43:3 … send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me;

22:28 … the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations.

62:11 God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.

4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.

12  Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

 

II CHRONICLES

 

20:6 … O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

20:16  Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

18  … stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord … fear not, nor be dismayed;

 

JUDGES

 

8:22 ¶ … the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.

23 And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.

 

PROVERBS

 

8:4 Unto you, O men, I call;

7 For my mouth shall speak truth;

14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding;

15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.

16 By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

2:6 … the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

 

II SAMUEL

 

He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

 

ISAIAH

 

9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.

 

MATTHEW

 

19:1 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.

22:15 ¶ Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.

16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, …

17 … What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.

20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

21 They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

 

JEREMIAH

 

42:1  … all the captains of the forces, … and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near,

2  And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, …

3  That the Lord thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.

4  Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you;

5  Then they said to Jeremiah, The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us.

6  Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.

 

LUKE

 

6:27  Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28  Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

 

JOB

 

22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

22  Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

26  For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.

27  Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, …

28  … and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

 

I TIMOTHY

 

2:1  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

2  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

1:8 we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever.

 

SCIENCE & HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES

BY MARY BAKER EDDY

 

SH 393:16-18

Be firm in your understanding that the divine Mind governs, and that in Science man reflects God’s government.

 

SH 128:4-6

The term Science, properly understood, refers only to the laws of God and to His government of the universe, inclusive of man.

 

SH 496:3-5 there

… there is but one Mind, and this ever-present omnipotent Mind is reflected by
man and governs the entire universe.

 

SH 379:6

The real jurisdiction of the world is in Mind, controlling every effect and recognizing all causation as vested in divine Mind.

 

SH 270:10-13

Few deny the hypothesis that intelligence, apart from man and matter, governs the universe; and it is generally admitted that this intelligence is the eternal Mind or divine Principle, Love.

 

SH 225:14-16

The history of our country, like all history, illustrates the might of Mind, and shows human power to be proportionate to its embodiment of right thinking.

 

SH 215:12

Whatever is governed by God, is never for an instant deprived of the light and might of intelligence and Life.

 

SH 127:30-2, 23-26 all

Christian Science eschews what is called natural science, in so far as this is built on the false hypotheses that matter is its own lawgiver, that law is founded on material conditions, and that these are final and overrule the might of divine Mind.

… all truth proceeds from the divine Mind. Therefore truth is not human, and is not a law of matter, for matter is not a lawgiver.

 

SH 231:14-16 there

… there are no antagonistic powers nor laws, spiritual or material, creating and governing man through perpetual warfare.

 

SH 282:23

There is no inherent power in matter; for all that is material is a material, human, mortal thought, always governing itself erroneously.

 

SH 182:19-22

Obedience to material law prevents full obedience to spiritual law, — the law which overcomes material conditions and puts matter under the feet of Mind.

 

SH 239:11-13

The wicked man is not the ruler of his upright neighbor. Let it be understood that success in error is defeat in Truth.

 

SH 8:20-22, 10-14

Praying for humility with whatever fervency of expression does not always mean a desire for it.

If a man, though apparently fervent and prayerful, is impure and therefore insincere, what must be the comment upon him? If he reached the loftiness of his prayer, there would be no occasion for comment.

 

SH 542:19-20 (to ,)

Let Truth uncover and destroy error in God’s own way, …

 

SH 420:3-4

Truth not error, Love not hate, Spirit not matter, governs man.

 

SH 316:12 (only), 20

Jesus represented Christ, the true idea of God.

Christ presents the indestructible man, whom Spirit creates, constitutes, and governs. Christ illustrates that blending with God, his divine Principle, which gives man dominion over all the earth.

 

SH 205:22

When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law of loving our neighbor as ourselves is unfolded; whereas a belief in many ruling minds hinders man’s normal drift towards the one Mind, one God, and leads human thought into opposite channels where selfishness reigns.

 

SH 208:20

Let us learn of the real and eternal, and prepare for the reign of Spirit, the kingdom of heaven, — the reign and rule of universal harmony, which cannot be lost nor remain forever unseen.

 

SH 427:23

Immortal Mind, governing all, must be acknowledged as supreme in the physical realm, so-called, as well as in the spiritual.

 

SH 102:13 (only) God (to ;)

God governs the universe;

 

SH 149:26 God (to 4th ,)

God, divine Mind, governs all, not partially but supremely, …

 

SH vii:20

Though empires fall, “the Lord shall reign forever.”

 

SH 326:20-21

Working and praying with true motives, your Father will open the way.

 

PUBLICATIONS QUOTATION

Prayer for good government

Joyce E. Boshler

The Christian Science Sentinel

November 3, 1997

 

One day a dear friend asked me, “The Bible tells us to pray for those in positions of leadership and for the peaceful resolution of differences. But how can I know which side is right?”

 

The answer that came to me was that prayer for our government is not a matter of determining which individuals are right or wrong, or of siding with one and defeating the other. The solution to any problem is not in the problem but in the understanding that God, good, is All-in-all, and that man is His spiritual idea.

 

God, the divine Principle of all being, governs every one of His ideas in every circumstance. We can all be obedient to this all-loving Principle instead of allowing human will, personal loyalties, or ambition to motivate us.

 

This same concept applies to our prayer for government. In truth, each of us is God’s idea—His own creation, man. To express qualities of God such as goodness, truth, wisdom, and love is natural. The members of our government—who, in reality, are also God’s ideas—can respond to prayers that affirm their true, spiritual nature. And when we pray in this way, we aren’t praying for a particular human outcome—we are praying for God’s will to be done.

 

Sometimes it isn’t easy to do this, especially when we have strong feeling about what the human solution should be! But trusting in God’s government is essential. It frees us from limitations and unreliability of the human mind and opens us up to the infinite possibilities of the divine Mind, God. Prayer is not an effort to change or manipulate matter or persons. Rather, it includes a denial of anything that would make us believe that creation is material, composed of fragmented thoughts and beings who are inherently at war with each other.