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Pray for Peace, Pray for Leaders

Leaders are the key to have a peaceful and dignified society. As the leaders are, so are the rest of the people.
Flags-of-Nations
In every society, leaders are criticized and stereotyped as corrupt and power-hungry. In 1 Timothy 2:1-7, we are encouraged to pray for the leaders of our society.
Everyone desires a peaceful and dignified life. Paul says the way to get there is through prayer. When we pray for our leaders, God is pleased with our prayers.
But the ultimate key to that prayer is that our leaders may come to know Jesus. This is because Jesus is the one mediator between the true God and people.
When leaders have a genuine relationship with Jesus, the society can enjoy peace and live a dignified life. These qualities come as a result of having leaders who are committed to Christ and committed to governing with biblical values.
So, what about our complaints regarding the nation? Yes, they may be valid and accurate, but the instruction for us is to pray. Our prayers will transform them, and transformed leaders will transform our society.
Your Turn
Join the discussion and add your thoughts. What have you learned?
Please share briefly in the comments section on the website.
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* Book recommendations on various topics I write on are available at my Resources Page.
** For a list of books that I’ve recently read, here is my Reading List.
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2 responses to “Pray for Peace, Pray for Leaders”

  1. thechark Avatar
    thechark

    Comment related to Jan.6 post. Thanks for this, Alexi. I need this reminder. Last fall, we had a national election and I chose not to vote (first time in many years). I had carefully listened and read positions of the various parties. I was grieved by some unethical choices made by the party I had previously voted for (the leader of whom is an avowed Christian). The 2 other parties had major ‘planks’ I could not support. Somehow this came up on my fb page and I took some heat for choosing to not vote. I did say that what I needed to do, and had done only rarely, was to pray for our leaders. So at the beginning of this year, I appreciate your exhortation. It still is not coming naturally to me. We have so many urgent needs to pray for – in the world and in our immediate sphere of ministry. I would quibble a bit about your 2nd sentence: “As the leaders are, so are the people”. I would lean toward reversing it to “As the people are, so are their leaders” I think people tend to get the government they deserve. That is a generalization, of course. But leaders are raised within a culture, a society, and are most likely to deeply reflect the values of that culture. (And perhaps for Americans, a sobering thought when you look at Mr. Trump.) As a Canadian, I want to look at the values of our leaders – what they say and how they govern, and ask, ‘How do they reflect the society of which I am a part? The answers the Holy Spirit leads me towards should inform the prayers I need to be praying.

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    1. Alexi George (@AlexiGeorge) Avatar
      Alexi George (@AlexiGeorge)

      Thanks for your response. You are right. The leaders are a product of the culture. But when you have a leader who has experienced the transformation effect of the Gospel, that leader can impact the people. Similarly, when there is a leader with character and stability, the society can be impacted. The problem is that too many leaders think they need to go with the “flow” of the society.

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