TODAY IS…

a perfect day to pray for our leaders.

“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.”  1 Timothy2:2 NLT

Perhaps many of you have noticed that prayer seems to be a recurring theme this month. It is appropriate since this is the month in which we celebrate the birth of Christ. If you have noticed the theme of prayer, you have also noticed that it is a theme of prayer for other people. This, too, is appropriate since, with the birth of Christ, God gave us the greatest gift the world has ever known.Therefore, this special time should be one of giving to others, and nothing makes a better gift than our prayers for them. Prayer is a gift that can be given to as many people as we can think of, and yet it is a gift that will fit easily into any budget.

So we continue to pray for others by pointing out the need to pray for our leaders – those who choose to run for public office, are appointed, hired, or are otherwise placed, or born, into positions of public “service.”

It is very easy to be cynical when we talk about our elected officials. Perhaps some of us have noticed that we rarely meet anyone who admits that they like Big Macs, and yet McDonald’s is one of the largest restaurant companies in the world. That didn’t happen because no one ate Big Macs and fries. Our politicians are treated the same way. Rarely do we ever encounter anyone who thinks our elected officials are doing a good job (or anything even remotely resembling the job they were meant to do) and it’s almost impossible to find someone who voted for any of them.

But someone did. A lot of ‘someones’ did.

As Christians,we should know that prayer is a powerful tool. Prayer to God asking for help for another person carries a lot of weight. Perhaps rather than always being critical, we all need to pray long and hard for those with whom our nation’s well-being is entrusted.

The writer of Hebrews noted the need for prayer for our spiritual leaders, but the words he wrote most definitely apply to our government leaders as well.

“Pray for us. We are sure we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.” (Hebrews 13:18 NIV).

While that certainty will bring cynical comments, we must set aside that urge and pray that they do exactly that.

In a society that seems to publicly push farther and farther away from God, we need to pray for God to push back and guide those who will decide issues that will affect our lives. We must also pray that our choices are based on character and performance rather than party lines and politics.

Political leaders need all of the help they can get. What better source of help can we offer than using the power of our prayers to ask God to help them make better decisions and set better examples?

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson