Prayer for Leadership
Barak Obama will be inaugurated as the President of the United States on January 20th. If you are an American, no matter who you voted for, he will be your President if Jesus tarries. If you are a Christian, you have Biblical obligations to this man and his position. I Timothy 2:1-3 says, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings (presidents), and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour:” Notice, that prayer and giving of thanks for President-elect Obama comes with the promise of “a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” God says this is “good and acceptable” to Him. It appears in verse 4 that as the church obeys this command; God’s will for “all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” can come to pass.
You may think that you cannot give thanks for President-elect Obama because of the specifics of his political platform. God did not say that if our leaders believe this or that (which may be contrary to our beliefs) that we were exempt from God’s command to pray. We pray and give thanks by faith; obedience to God’s Word. I do not have to “feel” before I obey, just as some people go to work and don’t “feel” like it.
“Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. To speak evil of no man…” (Titus 3:1&2). If we have spoken evil of any man, we should repent.
Prophecies have been spoken that if Obama became president there would be “doom and gloom.” Were the prophecies truly a Word from the Lord? If they were, we do not lay down in depression and say, “Woe is me,” but we must rise up, pray, and believe our God. Remember, the Lord sent Isaiah to prophesy to Hezekiah that he would die (II Kings 20). Hezekiah prayed. He reminded God of how he had obeyed Him. God honored Hezekiah’s prayer and gave to him 15 more years. Church, let us pray for President-elect Obama. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” Amen!