“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.”
(1 Timothy 2:1-2)
“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)
Father in heaven, we want to thank you for the common grace of living under a stable government. Corruption is not pervasive in law enforcement. Bribes are not exchanged in court. Armed bands are not shooting each other with machine guns in the streets. For the most part, people’s homes are safe from invasion and we can go about gathering food for ourselves without fear of violent theft. We know that these things are not to be taken for granted. We ask for your mercy in places like Haiti and Somalia where brutal lawlessness is the everyday reality.
We thank you also that, despite all the rhetoric our two parties exchange in order to accuse one another, the reality is that we’re still far from living under a totalitarian regime. Thank you that we can say what we want in public without getting beat down and hauled into a truck. Thank you that political dissidents aren’t made to “disappear” and never be heard from again, as is sometimes the case in China, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. You have been kind to us in America. We ask that you would keep us far from the abuses of dictatorship for many generations to come.
Sovereign over all nations, we do ask that you would be at work for blessing through the leaders you’ve appointed. We know that you “change times and seasons.” You “remove kings and set up kings” (Daniel 2:21). We also know that “the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1). And so we pray that you would work great good in the following arenas.
For outgoing leaders: as they serve out the remaining months, cause them to make wise and prudent decisions, for the long-term health of our nation and true peace in the world.
For newly elected leaders: grant them creativity and a desire for broad collaboration to solve the problems that you, Lord, see in our nation, whether those are the hot-button issues or not.
The Senate and House of Representatives: Dispel the culture of tribalism, personal attacks, and amoral gamesmanship. Restore a culture of mutual respect and human dignity.
The Supreme Court: Cause all justices to feel the weight of their responsibility, beyond any political considerations, to interpret the law in a manner that is rational, consistent, in harmony with our nation’s founding documents, and free from favoritism.
We pray for all of these federal leaders, as well as for our governor and the Illinois Congress and courts, as well as Will, Dupage, and Kendall County officials, as well as mayors and the boards/councils of all our respective cities. Lord, protect them from leading out of an indebtedness to any special interest groups. Cause them to have a keen sense that your eyes are on not only their actions, but also their motives. Cause them to fear you! Use this time in office to empty them of ego and teach them to look to their Creator.
For all individuals in our governments, show them their responsibilities under natural law:
- To protect the most vulnerable: the poor, the uneducated, the elderly, the disabled, the abused/misused, the unborn, and also the “sojourner in our midst” (Leviticus 19:33-34). Where immigration policy excludes some from remaining in our country, may they still be handled with dignity as precious human beings created in the image of God.
- To abstain from denying your created order; ceasing the government sponsorship of distorted sexuality, augmentation of the human body, preemptive termination of life through assisted suicide, or extinguishing of life in the womb.
- To expose and dismantle corruption, bribery, and unjust use of power.
- To punish those who steal, destroy, harm, and murder.
Lord, if there’s one quality that we long to see you cultivate in our government officials, and also in us as citizens with individual preferences and strong opinions about what should happen, that quality would be HUMILITY BEFORE YOU. From the president on down to me in my banter with friends, cause true humility to descend on our land like an early spring rain. We pray this so that your mercy might be recognized on the earth, and so that America might continue to be a safe haven for your church, and a beacon of gospel hope to world – not through our politics, but apart from them. Use our government to alleviate evil that would seek to choke or hijack your church by selling people a cheap hope, a false messiah, and a this-worldly salvation.
We hear your warning: “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save” (Psalm 146:3). Though “some trust in chariots and some in horses, we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). Be exalted, O Christ, through our quiet lives and honorable citizenship.
Amen.