A CUP OF COLD WATER

Praying for those in Authority

 All the nations of the world, including our leaders, are God’s inheritance (Psalm 82:8). We were made to worship Him and glorify His name (Psalm 86:9). God intended nations to make Him their God and be righteous before Him, with a promise that any nation that did so would be blessed (Proverbs 14:34; Psalm 33:12). Therefore, it is true to say that a blessed nation is one that is righteous before God, regardless their abundance or lack of natural resources, or their economic, military, population, or political strength. 

However, few leaders of nations acknowledge this truth. Instead, they rely on their resources to make them powerful, ignoring God who is able to truly bless them and make them powerful. As a result, they resort to terrorism and other violent acts to gain power, and when they are elected into office, they oppress and marginalise minority groups, abuse their authority, engage in corruption and the promulgation of ungodly decrees, just to retain power. Furthermore, some leaders ignore godly foundations, or remove ancient landmarks placed by godly fathers, and righteous people seem helpless against the ungodliness pervading our nations.

In spite of this, the church must continue to pray that our nations align to God’s purposes because each nation has a prophetic destiny. We should pray for Jesus Christ to be revealed in the chaos, righteousness to reign, God’s kingdom to come and His will be done. We should pray for God’s presence to permeate all aspects of our societies, making the way for Jesus Christ to be known and salvation to come to the people. This puts nations on the right path to fulfilling their prophetic destinies. 

We should pray for our leaders to be God-fearing and depend on Him for wisdom, direction, and discernment as they lead and make alliances with other leaders. We should pray that they understand their authority comes from God, and they will give account of their stewardships to Him. We should also pray that they rule with empathy, equity, without fear or favour, and that their policies will bring peace, development, and prosperity to their nations. Most importantly, we should pray that they would not stand in the way of the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

As we pray for our nations and leaders, we partner with God in bringing His purposes to life. When His righteousness reigns, nations are positioned to fulfill their prophetic destinies, and His glory is revealed to the world.