In Genesis 40, we read the story of a wrongfully imprisoned Joseph who, with God’s help, interprets the dreams of Pharaoh’s butler (cupbearer) and his baker. Joseph told the cupbearer that his dream indicated that he would be freed and restored to his position. After saying this, he told him, “But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon” (Genesis 40:14-15).

Later on in the chapter, though, we are told that the cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot.

Why did the cupbearer forget? We don’t know for sure, but we can surmise a few things. He was restored to his position, after some time in prison. It’s easy to imagine that he would be overwhelmed with joy at his sudden freedom. We can also imagine that he would want to make sure that he never had to go back, so he may have thrown himself into his job with renewed vigor. And, perhaps, he was a little afraid to intercede with Pharaoh, and so allowed himself to just move on with his own life.

Will we remember?

Imagine if you were summoned to meet the president of your country. You’d likely be a little nervous, trying not to say or do the wrong thing. You’d want to look your best. You’d want to have something memorable to say, perhaps, or some personal cause that you would like him to espouse. How likely would you be to ask a favor for a friend in trouble? How likely would you be to even remember your friends in the stress and excitement of meeting a powerful person?

And yet we have this opportunity every day of every week of every year. At any moment, we can stop and speak to the most powerful Being in the universe, entrusting Him with our gratitude, our needs and our desires. As often as we are moved to do so, we can come before the throne of the Lord, thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. More, throughout the New Testament we are urged to come before Him in prayer often. Paul writes, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1).

Astonished by my friend

I can remember the wonder that filled me the first time that a friend mentioned that she would add some concern of mine to the things that she prayed about for me. I was astonished at this revelation that she was already—without my asking it—spending part of her time with God talking about me and making requests on my behalf. She was telling me that I was so important to her that she would regularly mention my name to God and request His mercy and blessing in my life.

Don’t be like the cupbearer

What about us? When we go before the Lord in prayer, are we so concerned with the things that are going on in our lives that we forget to intercede for others? Do we wait until there is a crisis situation? Are we, in short, like Pharaoh’s cupbearer—who in his master’s presence forgot his fellow prisoner? Or are we remembering to pray for not just those in immediate need, but indeed everyone we know? In fact, we ought even to be praying for those that we do not know personally.

Going back to 1 Timothy 2 and continuing on, we read, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Let’s not be like the cupbearer, who forgot Joseph for two years. When we exercise the freedom we have to “come boldly to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16), let us remember to intercede for others as well as making the requests and supplications for ourselves.

Further reading

For more enlightening examples, read “The Blessing and Responsibility of Intercessory Prayer.”

The Bible records that Nebuchadnezzar, a powerful ruler over the Babylonian Empire 600 years before Christ, received a vision from God. The prophet Daniel interpreted this dream. Daniel explained that God gave Nebuchadnezzar this vision “in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men” (Daniel 4:17).

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence”

Few developed countries have experienced such a violent ruler in recent times. Yet, the Bible clearly shows that at times God will place terrible leaders in positions of great power for the explicit purpose of fulfilling His plans. As implied in Daniel’s words, Nebuchadnezzar was not a nice man. He threw people alive into hot furnaces if they didn’t bow to his idol. He threatened all of his advisors with mass murder if they didn’t interpret his dream.

This was certainly true of the pharaoh of the Exodus, whose heart God hardened time after time until Egypt was humbled for its evil treatment of God’s people, Israel. God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh, “Indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16).

God at times has been directly involved in elevating individuals to very prominent positions. He inspired the prophet Isaiah to announce far in advance the rise to power of Cyrus the Great to fulfill His purpose (Isaiah 45:1). It was a century and half later when God gave Cyrus power over the Persian Empire.

At another time, Daniel stated, “Praise the name of God forever and ever . . . He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings” (Daniel 2:20-21, New Living Translation 2013). The apostle Paul, writing to Christians living in the capital city of the Roman Empire, wrote, “All authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God” (Romans 13:1, NLT 2013; see also Psalm 75:6-7; John 19:10-11).

So does this mean that God somehow “endorses” America’s new president or any other leader with all of his or her flaws and foibles? No. What it does mean is that God has a purpose for humanity, a purpose for current events, and He will accomplish that purpose through the leadership that He either puts in place or allows.

The Scriptures show that while God sometimes does indeed decide who will be the leading official of a nation, He also allows people to pick national leaders whose values are not those taught in the Holy Scriptures, even to their detriment. He once criticized His own anciently chosen people with these words: “Israel has rejected the good . . . They set up kings, but not by Me” (Hosea 8:4). The lesson is plain: God only approves of those rulers who have not “rejected the good” as He defines it.

The apostle Paul gives this superb advice for Christians who wonder what to think of the governments they find themselves living under: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2, emphasis added).

Praying that God will provide leaders who will work to make it possible for believers to live “a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” is commendable and proper in God’s eyes. But first it is critical to learn and practice His will before expecting Him to hear those prayers (see 1 John 3:22). Even Jesus, having complete faith in God’s decisions, prayed, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). And it is in God’s Word, the Bible, where we can find His will revealed.