Pray 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, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, 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 ESV)

Whatever our political associations or leanings, God calls us to pray for those in authority over us. Leadership is not an easy route. It requires and demands much of those who step into, as Paul outlines in his letter to Timothy, the “‘high positions.” It puts us on the line and in the spotlight. It challenges the very core of who we are when we take the mantle and feel the weight of that responsibility.

But praying for our leaders and those in authority over us is not reserved for just the corridors of power in our nations. It goes beyond that into the local government, the church we attend, our marriages, and families. God has placed authority and leadership in each of these spaces. The Bible has many examples of how we should honor and operate with leadership, wives to husbands, saints to elders, as well as with our local governance (Matthew 22:21).

But sometimes it’s not easy.

Often our struggle with praying for our leaders reveals more about us than them. It reveals our lack of trust in the Lord. If we believe that God holds all things, then we have to trust Him with all things, which includes the people in power, making the decisions. The question to ask ourselves is, do I trust God more than I trust those in the high positions?

If the Lord is on the throne, we can boldly and honestly trust the words of Romans 13:1, Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

I wonder what would happen if we prayed for our leaders as much as we talked about them or their politics? What would happen if we prayed every day for our church leaders and pastors rather than critique their sermons? What would happen if we prayed more for our husbands or wives, rather than look at the tasks that need to be done? 

What would happen if God broke through because we prayed?

Martin Luther King Jr said, “a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." 

Our leaders set the tone and temperature for the spaces in which we dwell. They need our prayers.

Let’s commit to pray earnestly for our leaders. Paul urges us to do so, and perhaps the breakthrough you’re desiring or the change you have been longing for is waiting on the other side of our prayer.