Four Reasons We Should Pray for Our Leaders

We all live under human authority. Many of us are blessed to live in countries where even if our candidate didn’t win, elections allowed us to voice who we wanted to be in charge. Some of us don’t get that choice, and have leaders who weren’t voted into office, but gained their power through other means. However these leaders ended up in their positions, regardless of whether we think they should lead our country or not, we have a God-given responsibility to pray for them.

But for some reason, Christians (including myself) often seem to forget this. I have even seen memes* where people agree to pray for the person running their country, but it’s either that the leader would go to hell or that their years in power would be few. This is the wrong attitude. It is imperative that we pray for the men and women in charge, even though we might prefer they not be representing our towns, cities, states, provinces, and countries to the rest of the world. Here are some of the reasons why these prayers are so critical.

1. We are commanded to pray for them.

Honestly, we could end here. Even if there was no other reason for us to pray for our leaders, God has commanded that we pray for them through Paul’s writings, urging us to pray “for all people—for kings and all those in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1b-2a, NIV). Notice there’s no mention of whether we like them, whether we think they’re good at leadership, whether we agree with their policies. And since Paul likely wrote this letter to Timothy during the reign of Nero, there isn't much chance of using the awfulness of our leaders as an excuse (or saying they're beyond hope). Whether they are good or evil, persecuting us or supporting us, we need to pray for them.

2. They can affect their jurisdiction's welfare.

During the reign of King Ahab, a drought plagued the land of Israel (1 Kings 17:1). When Elijah, the prophet who had declared the drought, went to confront the king years later, Ahab accused him of causing this trouble. But Elijah revealed the truth: that Ahab and his family had brought this trouble on Israel by their idol worship and wickedness (1 Kings 18:16-18). David's own sins brought a plague on the land and led to a civil war (2 Samuel 24; 2 Samuel 12; 2 Samuel 15-18).

I’m not saying we can blame every bad thing that happens to us and our countries on whoever is in leadership. But just as our own sins often carry consequences for ourselves and those around us, so can those of our leaders. They are in positions where their sins, good deeds, wisdom, and lack thereof can carry great consequences for the entire area they have charge over. Each day they make decisions which affect everyone in their jurisdiction. We need to pray that God grants them wisdom so that those decisions will end up being for the good of those who live there, rather than causing irreparable harm.

3. God has put them in their positions for a reason.

Long ago there lived a man named Cyrus. Cyrus was likely not a good man. He was not a Christian, and did not acknowledge God as Sovereign (Isaiah 45:1-7). But despite this, God made him king over Persia for a specific reason: to keep His promise to the Jewish people. He moved Cyrus’s heart to decree that the Jews should return to the land of Israel and rebuild God’s temple (Ezra 1:1-4).

God has the leader of your town, your district, your country, there for a reason. It’s likely not obvious. You might never understand in this life why this person is there (I know I don’t get why some of my country’s leaders are in their positions of power). But God has all those details worked out.

 

4. God can and does move hearts.

The truth is, no one, not even the most wicked of us, is beyond hope until they die. Nebuchadnezzar was a foolish and proud king, who even set up an image (very likely of himself) to be worshipped in place of God (Daniel 3). However, he had a massive change of heart when God decided to let him go insane and live like an animal (Daniel 4). God used that to work in his heart, and when God brought the king back to his senses, Nebuchadnezzar worshipped God (Daniel 4:34-37).

And remember Cyrus? Read Ezra 1:1-4 again. Whereas before Cyrus did not even acknowledge God, he came to recognize that his authority over such a vast kingdom came from God (v. 2).

We don’t have to agree with everything our leaders do. If our country holds elections, we can even try to vote them out of office come the next one. But we must pray for them. We have no excuse to do otherwise. Even if you think your current leader leads in the spirit of Nero. Even if it seems impossible that he or she would ever change. We must pray that, for the time they are in their positions, they would govern wisely, and that God would bring them to acknowledge Him as LORD of all.

*Short for Internet Meme, usually a picture or video with text that’s supposed to be funny (see Merriam-Webster’s Definition, #2).