Praying for Our Leaders

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions…” (I Timothy 2:1-2).

How often do you pray for President Biden? How often do you pray for your governor? How often do you pray for any of your elected officials, those entrusted with oversight of our towns, our states, and our nation?

Here’s my confession. Years ago, I pulled the plug on the majority of talk radio programs as well as other news sources that do nothing but tear down the men and women in public office. I found that when I was consuming a large amounts of such material, I too became critical and the more critical that I became, the less I prayed for my elected officials.

The family, the church, and the state are all spheres that were ordained by and created by God. God’s Word also tells us that no one person is in authority that God has not allowed to be in authority. Election results have never cancelled out God’s call for us to pray for our leaders.

Our nation has been severely divided by partisan politics. Yet, God’s Word does not call us to pray only for those of our particular political persuasion or those whose policies with which we most agree. The call to pray for our leaders is a universal call in spite of their political affiliations.

What if, every Bible believing child of God in Christ, were to commit specific time to pray for our leaders? Praying for their spiritual, emotional, and physical wellbeing? Praying for their salvation. Praying that they might have the presence of mind and heart to do what is right and best for our communities, our state, and our nation. Praying that our leaders will have the courage to stand for what is right and to condemn that which is wrong. What might God do through such a commitment?

Praying for our leaders is not an admission that they do nothing wrong and that all of their policies are righteous. Once again, we are called to intercede for our leaders no matter what their party. And we are called to respect the office which a particular leader holds and pray that they will rise to their high calling.

I Peter 2:13 says, “Submit yourself for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as one in authority or to governors…” As Christians, were do we draw the line in respect of our submission to authority. As long as the laws that our leaders make and policies that they follow are within the guidelines of Scripture, we are called to obey the law of the land. However, if man’s laws call us to break God’s laws, at that point we must always choose to obey God, no matter the consequence.

Being a faithful citizen requires us to vote and take part in the election processes, but as a Christian citizen we are also required to pray for the leaders of our land, starting in our hometown, our county, our state, and our nation.

“Therefore, I want the men and women in everyplace to pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath or dissension” (I Timothy 2:8).