Do You still Pray for our Leaders?
On January 20, 2009 President Obama was inaugurated. Some Christians voted for him, and some didn’t, but even many of those who didn’t were still keen to recognize the Biblical injunction to ‘pray for our leaders’:
Nearly a quarter of a million people signed up on Max Lucado’s site to pray – others may not have signed up there, or even heard of him, but they too prayed.
And then what?
How easily we forget. If Biblical Christianity is indeed correct, then the battle of evil against good hasn’t stopped just because we had a nice bit of a prayer in January. Who’s praying now? And who’s getting ready to say, “Well, I don’t like what Obama says, or does, or stands for” … without having added their voice to what I suspect is the pitifully small number of people still praying? Do we only pray for our leaders when we feel like it? That’s not Biblical. Do we abandon them – stop praying for them – when they don’t follow a policy we believe in? That’s not Biblical either.
Let’s change that.
Politics is a hard enough arena to be in – let’s at least look after the people we voted about. One single vote in a presidential election seems a tiny thing when we compare it to the many millions needed to elect someone – but it all adds up, and every vote counts in one way or another. A prayer also seems to be an inconsequential thing – but each one matters.
We expect President Obama to make good decisions on our behalf about seats on the Supreme Court, foreign relations, the economic crisis – everything. It’s his job.
We should get back to our job – praying for our leaders.
What are your thoughts? Leave them in the comments…
Dave Travis
Rose
Thanks for this great synopsis. (BTW, “No Name” near bottom of your list was Mel Lawrenz, Elmbrook...
Jon Reid
We are to pray for our leaders, but I get concerned when Christians blatantly pray for our leaders to succeed without taking a close look as to what that means. We should be careful for what we pray for; Case in Point- for “Obama to succeed”. I have heard that in my own church and man it sure takes me out of the spirit of corporate prayer. Obama’s policies are so anti-godly that there is no way I want him to succeed. Gov’t dependency (Socialism) goes against a man shouldn’t carrying another man’s burden (Gal 6:5), he should work for welfare is not charity. Abortion, Gay marriage, Phony Global warming(Cap & Trade/Tax), and just big Govt in general (Loose are inalienable rights) are things that I oppose. I agree pray for wisdom, for many a heart change so that their policy can be supported and easily prayed for. As Jesus said, “be wise as serpents, gently as doves” and lets make sure that are our intercessions are God first for He is Love, Merciful, Holy, and Sovereign.