Article September 10, 2018 Issue

Government and politics— a prayerful approach

Diane S. Staples

At present, governments in many parts of the world seem overwhelmed, even crippled, by the struggle among individuals for political power. And yet, government is actually about something much more important than politics. Government is about principles and laws. Politics is about people and opinions. Politics often takes place within the context of government, but it cannot be the most important part of it.

Many centuries ago, the Hebrew prophet Isaiah wrote, “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us” (Isaiah 33:22). When I came across that statement in the Bible, I was interested to see that the three basic functions of government that we recognize today as the judicial, legislative, and executive were recognized in the days of the early Hebrew prophets. And while individuals fulfilled those functions then, as they do today, the Israelites recognized God as the ultimate governor of the people.

Recently I’ve begun to give more serious thought than ever to the subject of government. How might I do a better job of praying for the government of my country and of all nations? And good government is important not only on a national level, but also for cities and towns, for local police and school boards—wherever people need to work together to accomplish good things for society.

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