A Prayer For Politicians

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer[a] must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,[b] sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.
1 Timothy 3:1-13

These above standards are the Biblical Standard recommendations for a leader of the church.

I know, most politicians did not set out to be Christian church leaders, but isn’t this list of qualifications what we should pray for and look for and vote for in our leaders everywhere?!

Shouldn’t we pray our government leaders put on the armor of God? Shouldn’t we pray they stay in the Word? Shouldn’t we pray they are so filled with the Holy Spirit that they can only live in the center of the Lord’s will?

These people who seek to lead our country, many of them probably set out to do good. But they end up in the deepest density of temptation.

Think of it! In charge! In power! In elite circles full of worldly success! In a place to easily profit from their position in extra tempting ways!

When the devil tempted Jesus, he showed Him every city in this world and said “All of this is mine.”

However good their beginning intentions, who else is in more of a position to be tempted and eventually led by the devil than world leaders?

Let our prayers always seek to cover them in the only protection and provision sufficient for that dangerous position.

Lord,

We thank You for Your strong hand of provision and protection! Please, Lord, help the leaders who set out with a heart for You.

Help those who began this way and have gone astray. Let the Spirit in them bear witness to their wandering and show them the path back to Your will!

Protect those who are working for You in the midst of the highest governments of the devil’s world.

We forget, Lord, living here, that this is not our home. Protect us, like parents need to protect children in an unknown culture. Guide us, Lord, and those who lead us here.

And let us always remember, Lord, that we are strangers in a foreign land and we must protect ourselves with the armor of Your Word.

In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen

Pray For Those Telling Truth to Earthly Power in Dangerous Days

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven.The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. - John 6:32-36 

Jesus is of course our best example of speaking truth to earthly power during dangerous days. And is it any surprise that though He was fully human, he was also fully unafraid? Of course not! He was still God!

We just remember Jesus gave His own Spirit and authority to those who follow Him. So should we be silent out of fear?

Never!

Lord,

It is so hard to remember our courage some days. And yet, we see them, Lord, those brave souls who are standing for Truth. We see them speak out from jail cells and death beds. We see them stand in persecution, proclaiming their blessings from Your hand.

The world doesn’t understand, Lord, but they will see. They will see that it is better to live one moment tortured on earth but still Your beloved. It is better to stand in a furnace, with Water from Your Living Well, than to bow to the prince of this world of lies.

Let us be strong in You, inspired each by the Faith of one another, to cling to You ever more.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen

A Prayer To Know The Importance of Looking For Timeless Perspective

Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” - John 4:21-24 

Lord,

It is so easy to be myopic about our own problems. They seem so large to us, right here in front of our own perception.

Other things, other people’s problems seem far away and insignificant.

But Lord, I know You Bless Me! I know You make it so that in every struggle I have Your protection and provision.

Why do I so often complain? How can I feel myself to be so overcome by any problem?

When I am a Child of You, the Most High, the eternal Father?

Lord, thank You that we can count on You to have the wisdom of timeless perception. You have the perspective of truly knowing the importance or unimportance of all things.

Thank You for Your reminders that all the things we spend time worrying over and getting upset about are passing away. Thank You for your timeless wisdom and the ability to know if we seek You, everything else can be let go.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen

A Prayer Over What’s In Our Hearts

Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart. - John 2:23-25

My mom and I were talking today about real racism and prejudice and what it is really like to witness it.

Those occasional (in my experience anyhow) times that people say the quiet part out loud and they give you a view straight to the darkest parts on their hearts are not like what is so often called hate in media and on social media.

It isn’t a discomfort with a culture or use of gender pronouns someone depressant like. That’s not what I mean.

I am talking about true stupid and unthinking hate straight from the portions of your heart that aren’t submitted to The Lord.

That kind of anger and burning self righteousness that make one look at you and think “What are we terrible humans made of after all?”

We all have them.

I think for most of us it’s a personal thing more often. The kid we really hated in middle school. The Mother In Law who abused our spouse yet insists she should be given respect as if she had nurtured them. These kinds of things lead to unforgiveness and unthinking hate for most people.

As a Christians we have to work super hard to keep bringing these closed off parts to Jesus so He’ll direct us through the Holy Spirit in the different humbling revelations that lead to forgiveness and healing.

It can be a lifetime of work.

What a victory for the devil then, when he can warp someone’s idiotic pride into making them have this kind and depth of unthinking hatred for a whole group of people.

Racism, us vs them thinking of any kind, it all comes from this devil warped pride. Once he has convinced you to elevate self above another person, how many steps does it take to get you to ignorantly and self importantly hate all the people you associate with them?

I’ll tell you from experience that it’s not many steps. After realizing the effects of abuse and sexual molestation on my husband and also a close friend of mine, I hated their abusers with a stinging passion and a deep seated feeling of wanting vengeance.

No part of me felt like it mattered that this all happened decades before I was in either of their lives. No part of me was thinking that these abusers are also children of God, people who He made with as much fearful wonder as He made my children.

It will probably be a lifetime of work for me to forgive, so how much more for them?

But what of hating people we simply don’t understand? What of scorning wide swaths of people simply because we feel superior to them? Familial spirits from the evil one? Maybe. Unthinking hate and the same kind of self righteousness and driving anger? Oh yes.

We need to remember our emotions are a gauge of what’s going on inside of us, and sometimes a pretty accurate gauge of what’s going on outside of us, but they can’t be our guide.

We can’t feel all that anger and vengefulness and ire and upset and let it lead us to also thinking that we are righteous in it or somehow justified by it.

The Lord has promised us a sound mind. If we don’t have one at the moment, or about one thing, we need to go to Him and find out why.

Jesus,

You know our hearts and our minds. You love us anyway.

We can never be righteous or justified in ourselves or our emotions or thoughts outside of You. Only You create in us a clean heart. Only You are truly just or righteous.

Let us come to You, when we find we have a place of unthinking hate, of stubborn unforgiveness. When we find we are facing hate and stupidity, clouded thinking and unreasonable self righteousness, lead us back to You.

Only Your wisdom shows the faults in our own hearts and thoughts.

Amen

A Prayer For Those Struggling With Works and Submission

And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac.But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit. But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman. - Galatians 4:28-31 

Lord,

Every battle of submission, every problem we have with pride, is a battle of Self. Help us get ourselves out of the way before every thing we do and please allow us to work for Your will in out broken world by doing so.

In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen

A Prayer For A Servant’s Heart

Can I serve others while serving myself? No. But there’s always so much of myself still here, and so close!

Can I follow God while following my own wants and whims? No. But my wants and whims feel so urgent and they’re in my head without promoting.

Lord,

Make me a servant like Elijah. Help me to follow You so closely I know exactly what Your will in the moment is.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen

A Prayer To Speak Life and Control My Tongue

“And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. - Matthew 12:36 

This is the most terrifying verse in the Bible to me.

I’m a blabbermouth! I have always liked too much to speak too often. I have worked on my terrible habit of interrupting outspoken for years now, but I’m really still very bad about it.

I spent far too much time in my life unnecessarily gossiping. I hurt period and pushed them away and made them feel bad about themselves with my cloddish or deliberate words daily for many years.

I felt I had no control over it. It seemed a lot of my family was the same. But never did I take it to the Lord until recently.

In fact, until a few years ago, I didn’t even think it was much of a problem. Just how I was made, nothing I could do about it, right?

Wrong!

God showed me the power of the tongue, the fact that we can truly speak life or death over ourselves and others.

He’s convicted my heart and every few days it seems like memories hit me of things I said before that I wish I could take back.

And the hardest part about learning to speak life and having my eyes opened to the true Spiritual power of our words is that I’m still not as controlled as I would like to be.

Daily I hear myself sounding harsh to my kids or snapping at my husband. Any time I speak to anyone I’m still liable to say something impulsively that I worry over later.

So this prayer is for myself, but I hope it will be one you’ll still pray with me. I hope it helps us all learn better how to speak life!

“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. - Matthew 12:30,36 

Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish. - Proverbs 18:13 

Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. The words of the godly are like sterling silver; the heart of a fool is worthless. The words of the godly encourage many, but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense. - Proverbs 10:19-21

Lord,

I pray for Your timeless help with my foolish tongue.

I long to speak life over my family and community.

I wish to be a balm to souls the way Your Word says that a wise and godly speaker can be!

May I hold my tongue more often and measure my words carefully, knowing You hear each one and that careless words can be a foolishly wielded sword.

I know You’ve given me the power to accomplish all of this, through the Holy Spirit, Amen.

A Prayer While The Lord Tempers Us

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. - Ephesians 2:1-10 

Lord,

The world is on fire and we are living in the furnace.

We are weakened and scared. We seek safety and reassurance, and so often we forget that all rests in You!

We scramble for power and forget all righteous power is given us by the Holy Spirit and all power and glory truly belong only to You!

Lord, we are free! Thank You that we are free! We need not live under any law. We don’t have to live under religious legalism, and we bow to none but You, Christ Jesus!

What liberty! There’s no way to be worthy of it! Thank You for Your Grace!

And yet, with all this freedom, You grow in us wise hearts. You are so worthy of our love that we are inspired to follow Your divine moral guidance! Your Spirit always speaks to show us where we go wrong. We can live free yet righteous because of You, Lord!

Lord, Thank You for this current tempering by fire. May we be stronger and more resilient for it quickly.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

A Prayer Over Maxine Waters and All the Leaders in The United States

Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. – 1 Corinthians 15:22

I pray for you. I pray today that by humble heart you find your way to Christ the Lord.

I pray that if you have already done so, you now dive deeper into the Word than ever before!

I pray you daily don the armor of God and if you can’t take time for your Bible, then I pray that you are blessed instead with verses of the Bible wherever you turn. May your daily life bring them up to you so that you are filled with their goodness and truth.

May you find yourself with open eyes seeing with the clarity only God can bring.

May He bless you so well and fully that your heart overflows with the love and truth and Justice that can only be found through Jesus Christ and true fellowship with Him.

May the demons and devils of your life fall away as you move forward towards the Lord.

May you find yourself becoming the leader you long to be through the power of Christ and your submission to Him.

I pray He indwells you so strongly and fully with the Holy Spirit that you may only stand for His will in this world.

I pray you live safe, happy, and healthy, in the center of His will!

In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen

A Prayer For Hope Desperately Needed

So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord! - Psalm 31:24 

We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield.In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. - Psalm 33:20-22 

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.Rescue me from my rebellion. Do not let fools mock me. - Psalm 39:6-8 

Are you hopeless? It seems to me that everyone I know not only in America, but in the world today, is suffering a terminal hopelessness. Except my Christian friends.

Don’t get me wrong, we wrestle with it some. All I know who hope in Christ can see how hopeless and helpless and terrible the world is. We feel that human feeling of knowing there’s absolutely no hope for things going so wrong all around us. Things so very far out of our control.

But we have a hope in Christ that is unlike any sort of idea of hope the world can contain.

It isn’t a general idea that things might get better.

It isn’t a pollyanna-ish decision to look on the bright side.

It is a well researched and committed decision to choose to trust in the promise of a Creator Father God who has never broken a promise.

Research it. In the Bible, there’s no broken promises from God. He doesn’t break His covenant to us.

He is the ultimate promise keeper, the ultimate provider, the miracle maker, the way giver.

We don’t need extreme naivete or a determination to close our eyes and ears away from seeing the real problems of the world.

We Christians can see the truth and depth of the battle between good and evil, and we can still have an enduring hope.

Our hope is in fact a trust in the promises of the Faithful One who has said we are sheltered by His Son’s sacrifice, even from the death caused by our own sin. He offered it freely and we accept it humbly, and once that is complete in us, we never need to lose hope. We need never take back our trust that no matter what happens in this world, even beyond death, we will have freedom and everlasting life.

Lord,

Thank You for the everlasting hope only You can offer or provide. Thank You for the protection and provision You give from this harsh and often even torturous world.

In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.