How to pray for politics
As a new president is inaugurated next week, here are some suggestions for how Christians can pray for our nation, our political leaders, and ourselves as we pursue Christ through an increasingly political culture. Consider using these verses in your own personal prayer time, or to help structure a small group or church service devoted to prayer for our nation.
1. Pray for our own peace and joy in the midst of change
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4–7
Politics uniquely combines attempts to persuade others who do not agree with you, as well as a polarization/demonization of those who do not agree with you. Thus, politics can be addictive because everything becomes urgent. If the wrong person wins or if the right bill fails, our minds significantly exaggerate the fallout. Thus politics is addicting, consuming, and leads to life void of joy. Those I know who are in politics professionally have figured out how to disengage. But there is a tendency in many to consume political news and updates. This leads to anxiety and a loss of joy.
This is exasperated by a contested presidential election, dual impeachments, and COVID chaos. Now that the election is over, ask yourself: did I get sucked in? Has politics stolen my joy? Am I anxious about the future? If so, confess, repent, and return to taking your thoughts captive for the joy of the Lord. There is no better passage to meditate on and pray through to that end than Philippians 4:4-7. Pray that these verses would mark your life.
(cf. Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 2:12-17)
2. Pray for our own submission to the government
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”
Romans 13:1–7
There is a bit of the Don’t Tread on Me Spirit in most Americans. In a nation borne out of revolution, submission to government is often treated as a weakness, not a virtue. But the Bible describes submission in a way that makes it even stronger than our world. Submission gives way to respect, and respect to honor. God calls his people to love, honor, respect—and yes, even pay—those in governmental authority over us. There is a sense in which democracy makes this difficult—it is hard for some to respect leaders whom we voted against (or to think of a recent example, even leaders we voted for!). But that is what the Bible calls us to do.
So pray to God and ask him to help you grow in your respect for those in authority over you. This is something only God can do, and so pray that he would do it.
(cf. Ecclesiastes 8:1-11; 1 Peter 2:11-19)
3. Pray for our leader’s conversion
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
1 Timothy 2:1-6
Surprisingly, Paul does not challenge Christians to “speak truth to power,” or seek to right the wrongs in government. Instead, he calls Christians to lead a peaceful and quietly life. To fly under the radar. To, in one sense, simply fit in, so that what stands out would be Christ and not us. Basically, we should pray that our political leaders leave us alone.
But Paul goes even further than prayer for government to not notice us. He calls Christians to pray that their governmental leaders get converted. It is true that Jesus came for the humble and the broken. There are not many who are wise in the world eyes who are going to be converted (1 Corinthians 1:26). Nevertheless, God desires all kinds of people to be saved—even kings! Pray that God would place Christians around leaders, just as he placed Paul around Caesar’s household (Philippians 4:22).
(cf. Acts 25:22-32; Philippians 4:20-23)
4. Pray for our leader’s morality
“He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing. When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth. By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down. A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices. A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge. Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.”
Proverbs 29:1-8
Proverbs 29 expresses the reality that when a nation is ruled by wicked people, suffering increases. The parallelism in this passages links the sin of pride to suffering, prostitution, bribery, flattering speech, and ultimately the exploitation of the poor. Pray that instead of those sins, our leaders would be marked by humility, righteousness, wisdom, justice, and compassion.
(cf. Proverbs 16:10-22; Proverbs 20:8-9, 26-30)
5. Pray for our trust in God’s sovereignty
“All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of Yahweh blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever….Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of Yahweh, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
Isaiah 40:6–17
A passage like Isaiah 40 causes us to zoom out and get perspective. There are 8 billion people alive now, and in 70 years nearly all of them will be gone, and replaced with another 10 billion or so, most of whom will live in nations like China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan—nations without a strong gospel witness. There is a sense of immediacy when we focus on our own political issues that dissipates when we look out at the world and up at the Lord.
Reading and praying through a passage like Isaiah 40 causes us to take our eyes off of ourselves and our own children, and wrestle with the fact that God is eternal. He establishes kings and kingdoms, and he will bring history to a screeching halt according to his own time table. Fervent prayer is what is required to escape the faux immediacy and self-importance that fills so much of our culture.
(Acts 14:15-17; Acts 17:24-31; Isaiah 46)
