Patriotic Christians #2 - Pray For Our Leaders Series

Patriotic Christians #2

Pray for Our Leaders

Theme: As Christians, we have a responsibility to pray for our elected leaders and officials.

Introduction

Last week we took some time to talk about seven different ways we could pray for our country. We need to pray for humility, that we will seek God and come out of darkness, that we will let go of anger, that we will show love, that we will stand in unity, that the fear of God will drive our actions, and that God’s will to be done in our country.

This morning I want to consider praying for our leaders.

This week, President Trump was tested and found to be COVID positive. And almost as soon as it was announced via Twitter, a flurry of activity began on social media and regular media wishing ill of the President and his wife, ill wishing that the Vice-President and his wife would get sick and die, and that the Speaker of the House would be immediately put in as President.

What times we live in where people would actually hope for the President to pass away from this virus. What evil times we are in.

On the other side, I have also seen a lot more people indicating that they are praying for the President and the First Lady. Praying for health and wellness. Praying for a quick recovery. Praying for strength during this time.

You know, the President is not perfect. The government is not perfect. But the government and our leaders are God ordained.

<The Moral Basis of Government (Part 1)

By Sermon Central

From a sermon by Matthew Kratz, The Christian’s Response to Government, 5/19/2012

Copied from Sermon Central>

Richard Halverson, who served as the Chaplain for the US Senate from 1981 to 1995 wrote:

“To be sure, men will abuse and misuse the institution of the State, just as man because of sin has abused and misused every other institution in history, including the Church of Jesus Christ, but this does not mean that the institution is bad or that it should be forsaken. It simply means that men are sinners and rebels in God’s world, and this is the way they behave with good institutions. As a matter of fact, it is because of this very sin that there must be human government to maintain order in history until the final and ultimate rule of Jesus Christ is established. Human government is better than anarchy, and the Christian must recognize the “divine right” of the State.”

(Richard Halverson, Prologue to Prison (Los Angeles: Cowman Publishers, 1964), p. 223).

It’s not perfect. That’s why we have a responsibility to pray for our government, our leaders, our elected officials.

Paul writes to Timothy saying:

1 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. (1 Timothy 2, NLT)

We should be praying for each other every day, including our leaders. Intercede on their behalf. Give thanks for them.

<https://decisionmagazine.com/praying-other-leaders-oppose-beliefs/>

Former Arkansas governor and contributor to Fox News, Mike Huckabee said, “Praying for them is to recognize that God can hit a straight lick with a crooked stick.”

“But praying for someone doesn’t require me to agree with them or to be silent when I feel the need to rebuke. As I raised my children, I prayed for each of them by name daily, but that never stopped me from disciplining them. It’s because I do pray that I feel free to speak truth to power.”

So let’s take a few minutes this morning and consider seven prayers for our leaders, one for each day this week.

1. First, we should give thanks for our leaders who are willing to take the responsibility.

Prayer should always start with thanksgiving.

Paul said to give thanks for our leaders.

Sometimes that’s a hard thing to do, especially when our leaders seem to be so far away from following God.

Are we supposed to give thanks for even the evil leaders? Leaders who do not stand for God? Leaders who even oppose God?

I believe the answer to that is yes.

And here’s why: Paul tells the Roman church this:

1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. 4 The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. (Romans 13, NLT)

We will talk more about that next week when we talk about respecting the government.