Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for bringing this burden before the Lord in prayer. Your desire to see those in authority governed by the Word of God reflects what Scripture itself commands when it tells us to make prayers and intercession for all who are in authority, so that we may live peaceful lives and so that many may come to know the truth and be saved.
God has indeed ordained authority and has given humanity a stewardship under Him. The Scriptures teach that rulers are accountable to Him and need wisdom beyond themselves. That wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, and the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. It is not a casual dislike of wrong but a settled turning away from pride, arrogance, perverse speech and every crooked way. To hate evil in this way is the first step toward real understanding.
That is why your prayers for wisdom and good counsel are so needed. There are two kinds of wisdom. One is earthly, driven by envy and strife, and it brings confusion and every evil work. The other is from above. That wisdom is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to listen, full of mercy and good fruit. You can tell which wisdom a person is following by the life that follows. One leads to strife, the other to purity and peace. We should ask God to give our leaders the second kind, the wisdom that comes from above, so that their decisions may be marked by holiness, clarity and mercy rather than by selfish ambition.
Scripture also teaches that wisdom is more valuable than riches and that nothing we desire can compare to it. It is wisdom that preserves a person. When wisdom enters the heart and knowledge becomes pleasant to the soul, discretion preserves and understanding keeps a person. It delivers from the way of the evil person and from perverse speech, from those who leave upright paths to walk in darkness and who delight in doing wrong. In the same way wisdom guards against flattery and deceit. To pray for those in high office to love wisdom as a close companion is to pray for their protection, that they would be kept from falsehood, from imposters, from leaks and secret plans meant for harm, and from those who have a form of godliness but deny its power.
The Bible says that by wisdom kings reign and princes decree justice, and that counsel and sound understanding belong to wisdom. Apart from God, human wisdom cannot find its true purpose and only leads to foolishness, but God gives wisdom generously to those who ask Him. So we can keep asking that those who bear great responsibility would not be wise in their own eyes, but would fear the Lord and depart from evil, that they would look straight ahead, ponder their path, and turn their feet away from evil.
Continue to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness as you pray, trusting not in your own understanding but in Him with all your heart. Pray that He would keep those in authority from temptation and deliver them from the evil one, that He would give His charge over them and guide them to know what to do and to carry out His purposes in their generation. And as you pray with thanksgiving, may the peace of God guard your own heart and mind in Christ Jesus, who alone is the way of salvation and in whom all the promises of God are yes.
God has indeed ordained authority and has given humanity a stewardship under Him. The Scriptures teach that rulers are accountable to Him and need wisdom beyond themselves. That wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, and the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. It is not a casual dislike of wrong but a settled turning away from pride, arrogance, perverse speech and every crooked way. To hate evil in this way is the first step toward real understanding.
That is why your prayers for wisdom and good counsel are so needed. There are two kinds of wisdom. One is earthly, driven by envy and strife, and it brings confusion and every evil work. The other is from above. That wisdom is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to listen, full of mercy and good fruit. You can tell which wisdom a person is following by the life that follows. One leads to strife, the other to purity and peace. We should ask God to give our leaders the second kind, the wisdom that comes from above, so that their decisions may be marked by holiness, clarity and mercy rather than by selfish ambition.
Scripture also teaches that wisdom is more valuable than riches and that nothing we desire can compare to it. It is wisdom that preserves a person. When wisdom enters the heart and knowledge becomes pleasant to the soul, discretion preserves and understanding keeps a person. It delivers from the way of the evil person and from perverse speech, from those who leave upright paths to walk in darkness and who delight in doing wrong. In the same way wisdom guards against flattery and deceit. To pray for those in high office to love wisdom as a close companion is to pray for their protection, that they would be kept from falsehood, from imposters, from leaks and secret plans meant for harm, and from those who have a form of godliness but deny its power.
The Bible says that by wisdom kings reign and princes decree justice, and that counsel and sound understanding belong to wisdom. Apart from God, human wisdom cannot find its true purpose and only leads to foolishness, but God gives wisdom generously to those who ask Him. So we can keep asking that those who bear great responsibility would not be wise in their own eyes, but would fear the Lord and depart from evil, that they would look straight ahead, ponder their path, and turn their feet away from evil.
Continue to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness as you pray, trusting not in your own understanding but in Him with all your heart. Pray that He would keep those in authority from temptation and deliver them from the evil one, that He would give His charge over them and guide them to know what to do and to carry out His purposes in their generation. And as you pray with thanksgiving, may the peace of God guard your own heart and mind in Christ Jesus, who alone is the way of salvation and in whom all the promises of God are yes.
