WASHINGTON, DC – The United States is about to undergo changes in leadership at multiple levels. We will soon have a new President and Vice President, a new Congress, and new Cabinet members, advisors, and department heads. Each of these people will face challenges, the weight of which is as yet unknown.
The inauguration of a new President and the installation of a new administration should be a reminder of our Christian responsibility to pray for our nation’s leaders. Not just today, but every day. Praying for our nation’s leaders is not about politics. It is about our personal relationship and influence with the Lord on behalf of both elected and appointed leaders.
How should we pray for our nation’s leaders? Here are a few suggestions around which believers should be able to unite.
1. Pray for Wisdom.
Before Solomon ascended to the throne of his father, David, he asked the Lord to give him wisdom. Asking for wisdom is a good starting point, but it is only a starting point. Read the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. It will eventually become evident that Solomon gained much of his wisdom by doing things that were unwise and experiencing undesirable outcomes. Pray that our leaders will gain wisdom by learning and obeying God’s Word.
2. Pray for Discernment.
Solomon could have been even more successful if he had more clearly discerned right from wrong by following simple directions rather than experiential participation. What is so difficult about not depending upon horses to show strength or to have no foreign wife, let alone hundreds of them. Those instructions were clear in the Law.
3. Pray for Humility.
“Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The adage has proven true countless times over recorded history. Ask the Lord to keep our leaders humble. Ask that He help them understand that they are in their position only by God’s grace and ordination. Ask that He remind them that they are ultimately accountable to Him.
4. Pray for Righteousness.
A great 20th-century preacher proclaimed, “Do right. Do right until the stars fall. And if they do, keep on doing right!” The Lord desires that from all of us. How much more so for our nation’s leaders who are accountable, not only for their own lives but for ours as well?
5. Pray for Truth.
The great promises of the so-called Information Age have been displaced by a proliferation of misinformation. So much so that it has become increasingly more difficult to separate truth from error. Pray that our nation’s leaders will hear the truth and that they will speak to the truth.
6. Pray for Protection.
Pray for their protection. Whether you agree with them and their decisions or not. Pray that they will place the protection of this country, our Constitution, and our citizens ahead of their own personal perquisites that having their positions offer.
7. Pray for the Preservation of Our Liberties.
This matter requires a commitment to diligent prayer. We are in the danger of losing liberties ensured by our Constitution to the acceleration of a campaign for social justice where equal opportunity is replaced by an equal outcome. The latter would rob us of the liberties America has enjoyed for nearly 250 years.
8. Pray for Their Salvation.
The Lord is not willing that any should perish. That includes our government leaders. The condition of their souls is the most important issue they face. It is not likely that most of us will have access to these people in places of power. But we can pray.
Consider what a great privilege and awesome power we have to access to our Almighty God, the Great Creator of all things, and the Lover of our souls. It is incredible to realize that we can speak directly to Him on behalf of our nation’s leaders. How foolish would it be not to do so?
