Prayer for Government Leaders

 King of Kings, Lord of Lords,

You are exalted, for you dwell on high, filling your people with justice and righteousness.  You are the sure foundation for our times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge.  You are our Judge, Lawgiver, King and the One who will save us. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, we thank you that you are in control of all aspects of our civic lives.  You are our true tower of strength, our safe place, our hideout, and our true shelter when the world seems crazy.  You call us to be obedient, ready for every good work, speaking evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.  So we pray that your love may abound in us more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that we may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.  

We know that when we do not speak or act against the face of evil, our silence is in itself evil and you will not hold us guiltless. So help us to discern, pray, speak, and act from a pure heart - to overcome evil with Good - with the intention of standing up for your goodness and grace in our society.  Your Word calls us to submit to the governing authorities that you have appointed, but also calls us to have nothing to do with corrupt rulers who pass laws that empower evil and defeat what is right.  You gave to our citizens the choice of our rulers and we recognize that it is the duty, as well as the privilege, of our nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.  Yet, so many of our elected and appointed leaders seem so far from Christ.  So, in this day and time when evil seems to have won so much, we declare NO MORE to the wicked people and ideas currently controlling much of our governments.  We know that their evil plans and plots will eventually boomerang back onto them and seal their own doom. 

We pray in the name of Jesus that you would set people around those in authority to witness your Truth and Righteousness to them. Set their minds on you and your ideas, not the ideas of the flesh or the enemy, so that they are not hostile to, but can submit to God. In the meantime, we pray you would thwart all the enemy's plans in every level of government for harm of this nation. Your wisdom is profound, your power is vast; you move mountains of evil without their knowing it and overturn them in your anger. 

And where there are godly, Spirit-led political leaders, help us to submit with joy to their authority, knowing that they will have to give an account to you for the decisions they make. Help us to live in peace with everyone and to be holy. Today we pray for godly city council members, school board members, county commissioners, judges at all levels, state house and federal representatives and senators, state Attorney Generals, Secretaries of State, Lieutenant Governors, Governors, the President and Vice President of the U.S., their Cabinet and other officers. We pray that those filling these positions will be men and women whose hearts and minds are surrendered to you, Jesus Christ, who are filled with the Holy Spirit, who have character that reflects the heart of Christ, and who are diligent in Bible study and prayer.  We pray for righteous leaders to be raised up in our nation who will honor God and His ways.  All this we pray in the strong name of Jesus Christ, Amen and Amen!

The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;

    he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.

He will be the sure foundation for your times,

    a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;

    the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.

For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver,

the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us. (Isaiah 22:5, 6, 22 NIV)

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6 NIV)

"Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people." (Titus 3:1-2 ESV)

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ." (Philiippians 1:9-10 NIV)

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” - attributed to Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21 NIV)

"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. ... (Romans 13:1-7 ESV)

"It’s obvious to all; you will have nothing to do with corrupt rulers who pass laws that empower evil and defeat what is right. For they gang up against the lovers of righteousness and condemn the innocent to death. But I know that all their evil plans will boomerang back onto them. Every plot they hatch will simply seal their own doom. For you, my God, you will destroy them, giving them what they deserve. For you are my true tower of strength, my safe place, my hideout, and my true shelter." (Psalm 94:20-23 TPT)

"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you." (Hebrews 13:17 ESV)

"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14 NIV)

"For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot." (Romans 8:7 ESV)

"But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29 ESV)

"Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:13-17 ESV)

"His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.

   Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?  

He moves mountains without their knowing it 

   and overturns them in his anger."  (Job 9:4-5 NIV)

“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers. It’s the duty as well as the privilege of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” - John Jay (first U.S. Supreme Court judge)