“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 Tim 2:1-2)
Back when this was written, you didn’t have a say in who your leaders are, but today we think that because we get to vote for our leaders that we are in control. The reality is that all authority is either established or allowed by God.
Then, reading on, the next verses reveal the hard truth of why we need to pray for our leaders:
“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the mana Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Tim 2: 3-4)
Paul writes on this further in his letter to the Roman church:
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” (Romans 13:1)
We also see Jesus touch on this when he was speaking to Pilate who was about to condemn Him to death.
“You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” (John 19:11)
What – we’re supposed to pray for our leaders, even if we don’t agree with what they are doing? We live in sharply divided times – many who are thrilled at the results of the recent election, and many who are firmly opposed. And that’s just on the national level. The same division is at the state and even local leve. You can see from the news and media that some people consider our leaders to be their enemy. If so, then how does the command of Paul differ from these of Jesus:
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matt. 5:44) or ““But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” (Luke 6:27)
It is a hard truth that we as Christians are called to rise above and pray for EVERYONE around us, even those who we don’t agree with, or when they make decisions we don’t support. Why? Because God loved us even when we were unlovable, and desires us to extend that same mercy and grace to others. It’s not up to us to decide if someone is worthy of prayer or salvation – that is between them and God.
Does this mean we can’t have an opinion about our leaders and how they are conducting themselves? Absolutely not! I don’t believe there is a conflict when we pray for our leaders while at the same time exercising our freedom of speech to voice whether we agree with them or not. That is a freedom we enjoy in America because it was established by God when this country was founded. But at the end of the day we need to realize that ALL authority over us is established by God. There are times in the Bible where we read that a people is given a leader they deserve, which is not necessarily the leader they need. So I will pray for our leaders, as hard as that is at times, while at the same time praying for God to turn our country to leaders who will follow Him, and lead us in the direction He would have us go.
As times get closer to the end of time, we will see things get darker and darker. Since our world is ruled by imperfect people they will at some point disappoint us and make decisions we don’t always agree with. The hard part is to keep on praying for them, and try to see our leaders and their decisions through God’s eyes.
Dead Man Walking 
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