Overwhelmed at all the political commercials, ads and election coverage? Frustrated by the general political climate? Here is some encouragement to PRAY for our leaders, no matter what political party they belong to.
John Piper, in a sermon, “Pray for Kings and All in High Positions”
No king, no president, no premier, no Ayatollah can stay the hand of the Lord when he has purposed to do a thing. “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1). “Many are the plans of the mind of a man (of a king!), but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established” (Proverbs 19:21).
Therefore, we have strong encouragement to pray for kings and for all in high positions, whether they are believers or not, because our God reigns, and none can stay his hand!
One implication of what I’ve just said is that our prayers for those in high positions go beyond a prayer for their conversion or even sanctification. For that we must pray, or we disobey our Lord Jesus. But now we know also that God can do his good purposes even through rulers who remain impenitent.
This is the second reason I think Paul stressed that we must pray for kings and all in high positions, namely, because through them God is able to do so much good for others, whether the kings know it or not. Paul’s thought seems to be something like this, “If you want your prayers to do the most good for the greatest number of people, be sure to include in your prayers those persons whose decisions create the conditions in which the purposes of the gospel prosper.” It is important to pray for leaders because the conditions they create either advance or impede the gospel.
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 