DAY 6

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

I Timothy 2:1-4 (NLT)

Today, our theme for the fast is praying for our leaders. Let’s be honest though - we live in a very polarized culture. If a leader makes a mistake like saying something insensitive or making a decision that we don’t like, we tend to show very little grace. We are in a culture where we dishonor and disrespect those in authority. But the Scriptures teach us to take a very different approach in how we interact with those in authority. Paul here is teaching us that we ought to pray for those who are in authority. 

I used to be critical of my Lead Pastor’s decisions and think I could do it better than him until I became one. It’s easy to be hyper-critical of our President because we aren’t walking in his shoes. Many times we don’t understand the weight that our leaders are carrying and because of that, it’s easy to criticize and speak negatively about them. But what if we prayed for them instead? Instead of bashing our president, our boss, or our spiritual leaders, what if we committed to praying for them that God would give them wisdom, guidance, and strength? According to Paul, God is pleased when we intercede on behalf of our leaders. I also think it would help our leaders become more effective if we prayed for them! And lastly, if we committed to genuinely pray for those in authority in our lives, I bet God would change our perspective about some of the things that we’re so frustrated and angry about. 

God places leaders in authority to help cultivate peace and justice and hopefully govern with fairness. Instead of criticizing first, let’s do what the Scriptures teach us and lift them up in prayer, and be grateful for the leaders He has put in our lives! 

Here’s how you can pray for your governmental leaders:

• Pray for wisdom to govern justly.

• Pray for protection over their families.

• Pray for God to draw them close to Him and that they would recognize His love for them.

• Pray that God would surround them with godly, wise people to advise them.