*For more context to this conversation around God’s design for government and Christian participation in politics, I encourage you to read my blog series How Should Christians Engage Faith and Politics.
What if in this politically intense and uncertain season God wants to form in His people a practice of praying for our government leaders and for our nation? What if He wants us to carry that practice not just in election seasons but all the time? Let’s talk about why prayer matters when it comes to your government and your country and how you can partner with God in it.
Why Pray For Government
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. 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.
This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
(1 Timothy 2:1-4)
In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, we ‘re commanded by God to pray for all people, including our government and nation, for two reasons. (1) This practice is good and pleases God. (2) God desires societies where people are free to live peaceful and godly lives, and to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus.
God cares about what’s happening in the world He created. I believe He gives us these verses, in part, to indicate that the prayers of Christians actually have influence on the world when we pray earnestly in agreement with God’s will. (1 John 5:14-15)
Our prayers impact our own lives and the lives of others. Our prayers also impact circumstances related to leaders, governments, nations, the spiritual climates of cultures, and the work of God in the world. (James 5:16-18) Isn’t that a mind-blowing truth?!
While 1 Timothy states God’s desire and ideal, it won’t always be the case in this life. We live in a broken world that won’t have perfect government until Jesus Himself returns to rule as King. Still, God’s desire for how governments and societies should function in this present age is something to reach for, hope for and pray into.
God’s work is not constrained by whether governments and cultures match His ideal. He can still cause His Word to spread and transform lives, even with spiritual and human resistance. However, it can be easier sometimes for humanity to flourish, for evil to be restrained, and for the purposes of God to be accomplished in the earth when government matches God’s intended purpose.
In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, we're commanded by God to pray for all people, including our government and nation.Click To Tweet
Is it easy to misuse this idea of praying for government and making statements about how God would view modern political issues? Of course. I’ve watched believers infuse these legitimate and biblical concepts with impure motives and personal political agendas time and time again, and that will probably always continue to happen to some extent.
But I’m learning that we can’t let the mistakes of a few, discourage us from the amazing opportunity God’s given us to partner with His heart and His work in the world. We’re called to intentionally intercede in prayer. And, we’re called to speak into the cultural/political issues of the day with graciousness and prophetic insight, grounded in the Word of God.
I believe those words of prayer and proclamation hold weight in heaven and earth and God uses them to shift hearts and circumstances.
What to Pray for Government
How do we know exactly what to pray? There are so many aspects to think about and pray about: candidates for office and election seasons, current leaders who hold office, policies, challenges the nation is facing, the state of the culture etc.
Praying biblical prayers over your government leaders and your nation is a great way to pray. I can’t stress this enough. If we pray God’s Word, then we’ll pray in unity with other believers and we’ll pray according to God’s will. Praying the Bible will protect us as Christians from getting caught up in social narratives, personal desires, party agendas and division as we intercede in prayer.
In these biblical prayers, you’ll find requests for wisdom, help to live in an honoring and pleasing way to God, growth in loving others, salvation and spiritual maturity, peace, hope, protection, provision, unity and more!
Here’s a few to get started, and you can download a full list I created along with some prayer points in the free resource library. (look for How to Pray the New Testament Prayers)
- Romans 15:13
- Ephesians 1:16-20
- Ephesians 3:16-19
- Philippians 1:9-11
- Colossians 1:9-12
- 1 Thessalonians 3:10-13
- 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
- 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
Pray for Your Government Faithfully
Never stop praying. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Shawn Bolz posted something this week on social media that caught my attention. He reminded us, ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, that both candidates for President and Vice President are loved and cared for by God.
As we’re trying to figure out how best to stand for God’s values in society, let’s make sure we don’t miss God’s heart for people. Biblical faithfulness and Christian maturity look like sincerely praying for the people you’re voting for (or voted for) and the people you’re not.
Biblical faithfulness and Christian maturity look like sincerely praying for the people you’re voting for (or voted for) and the people you’re not.Click To Tweet.
I’m not talking about agreeing with them on everything, but rather appealing to God in prayer that they would encounter His love and salvation, be transformed by the work of the Spirit in their personal lives and how they serve in their careers.
I’m talking about interceding that they would find themselves surrendered and committed to the will of God and that they would experience His help and care in their lives.
We’re not called to pray for our government and nation only during election seasons. Not only when major policies are on the table or when your preferred candidate/party wins the election and holds power. Not only when you like the people in office or only during crisis moments. We’re called to pray–period. Not to pray is an act disobedience to God. I’ve been so convicted of this in my personal life lately.
The past few years have been a painful spiritual and emotional rollercoaster for me of wrestling with Scripture to figure out what faithful, prayerful political engagement as a Christian looks like, both for me personally and what I believe the Church is called to. Let me encourage you from personal experience: something so freeing happens to your heart when you move from a posture of criticism to a posture of prayer.
It’s like you step out from the weight of the culture’s narratives and opinions and you start to see through the lens of hope and how you can partner with what God wants to do. I believe that’s the perspective God’s called us to live and pray from. And when we do, we make space from Him change things in the world for our good and for His glory.
Let’s Talk: Has it been your practice before to regularly pray for your government and nation? How does studying these Bible verses inspire you to pray? Discuss this post in the comments below.
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