Our Leaders: Should I Sometimes NOT Pray for Them by Name?

The Bible teaches us that praying for our leaders is a PRIORITY. The Apostle Paul said, "FIRST OF ALL...I urge...that prayers...be made for...all who are authority." (1 Tim. 2:1-2) But in light of how divided we believers in America are right now, I'm thinking that this verse may be calling us at times to pray for those in power without mentioning their names!

Here's what I mean: I've noticed that authority figures are spoken of by name in the Bible narratives. There's Augustus Caesar, Pilate, Caiaphas--an emperor, a governor, and a high-ranking religious leader; many, many others in authority are named in the various Bible stories. But when we're told to pray for them (and submit to them) just their titles are listed. Here in Paul's letter to Timothy, and also in Romans chapter 13, he calls on believers to pray for and submit to government authorities, but he mentions positions rather than names.

So I wonder: should I sometimes stop praying by name for the national, state and local elected officials, and the supreme court justices, religious leaders, etc, all of whom I name in my prayer journal? Should I pray instead for "our President and our Vice-President, our Mayor and our Vice-Mayor, our State Representatives, our Governor and his staff, and our various Senators and Judges, and so on"--with no names attached? That way, I won't be thinking as much about the persons and their political parties or the publicity currently surrounding them--I can just pray for them in the position they hold!

I'm not saying that I'll take my prayer journal now and remove all the names (and in some cases pictures) of our elected officials, law officers, racial leaders, teachers, pastors and others in leadership roles. I'm saying that I need to change my prayer focus on them. Romans 13:1 says that "the authorities that exist are appointed by God;" so I need to be praying more about the God-given positions they hold than the personalities they portray!

What if we talked less about names in the news, for example, a fallen college president? What if we began talking more about needs in the news, for example the major Christian university without its president, having thousands of students challenged over the years to be "Champions for Christ;" and some may now be wondering if it's even worth it? What if we talked and thought less about the pictures in the news and talked and thought (and prayed) more about the personal stories behind those photos?

There are exceptions to what I'm proposing, of course. When Paul went up before the Roman officials he called them out BY NAME. The same was true of our Lord Himself and the Bible prophets as they faced wicked kings and religious rulers. We've got to stand courageously against sin in high places and call hypocrisy by name when we know it exists.

But I'm talking about our conversations with God and with each other. Somehow we believers must quit dividing ourselves up into "people" groups and must begin uniting ourselves into "prayer" groups! Let's commit to pray for "all who are in authority," whether they're in political...educational...judicial...social...or spiritual positions! Paul concluded that this is how we can "lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way." He even said it's God's way of saving us: "This is good," the Apostle affirmed, "and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:1-4). Thanks, Paul, for showing us that peace in our communities will depend on our prayers for those in power. LORD, TEACH US (U.S.) TO PRAY!