Pray for Those in Authority

May 1

It is always a blessing to know that a person of great influence and power has come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Sometimes it does not happen until after the trappings of power have fallen from him; perhaps because no man can “serve two masters,” Matthew 6:24, God and himself. Here are some of Napoleon's own words that evidence the delight he had after he had given his heart to the Savior.

NAPOLEON BECOMES A CHRISTIAN IN EXILE

"The Gospel is not a book; it is a living being, with an action, a power, which invades everything that opposes its extension. Behold it upon this table, this book surpassing all others (here the Emperor solemnly placed his hand upon it). Never omit to read it, and every day with new pleasure. Nowhere is to be found such a series of beautiful ideas, and admirable moral maxims, which pass before us like the battalions of a celestial army...The soul can never go astray with this book for its guide..."

Napoleon continued:

"Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, a His will confounds me. Between Him and whoever else in the world there is no possible term of comparison; He is truly a Being by Himself. His ideas and His sentiments, the truth which He announces, His manner of convincing, are not explained either by human organization or by the nature of things.

Truth should embrace the universe. Such is Christianity, the only religion which destroys sectional prejudices, the only one which proclaims the unity and the absolute brotherhood of the whole human family, the only one which is purely spiritual; in fine, the only one which assigns to all, without distinction, for a true country, the bosom of the Creator, God."

Napoleon concluded:

"Christ proved that He was the Son of the Eternal by His disregard of time. All His doctrines signify one only and the same thing-eternity. What a proof of the divinity of Christ! With an empire so absolute, He has but one single end - the spiritual melioration of individuals, the purity of the conscience, the union to that which is true, the holiness of the soul...

"Not only is our mind absorbed, it is controlled; and the soul can never go astray with this book for its guide. Once master of our spirit, the faithful Gospel loves us. God even is our Friend, our Father, and truly our God..."

The Word of God says of itself, "The entrance of Thy word gives light," Psalm 119:130, and it certainly appears that the Light of Christ flooded Napoleon's being when the great conqueror met the One who had conquered sin and death.

We can only wonder and imagine how amazing would have been the course upon which the world might have been set if Napoleon had arrived at his profound understanding of and love for Jesus Christ while great power was in his hands rather than when he had become an exile.

With this question before us, may we pray with great fervency for the leaders of our country and for the leaders of the world as Paul admonishes us to do in I Timothy 2:1, 2, "I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."

Lord Jesus, we bring those to whom You have entrusted great authority and power before You and ask that You touch their hearts and kindle within them a love for You and an understanding of Your truth. We ask that the Holy Spirit would course through their minds and hearts and spirits and bring them to a saving knowledge of You, O, Christ, not just for their own eternal well-being but that this world of ours might enjoy the peace and security that will come if the Prince of Peace controls the 'princes' who hold power. In Your name we ask, Jesus. Amen.