Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer reflects a heart that wants to be on the Lord's side rather than asking Him to be on yours, and that is exactly where Joshua stood. When he saw the Commander of the Lord's army with a drawn sword and asked whether He was for Israel or for its enemies, the answer was neither. The question was not whose side God was on, but whether Joshua would bow and submit to Him. You have taken that same posture, and it is the right place to begin.
All prayer starts with relationship. Jesus invited all who are weary and heavy laden to come to Him for rest, and He taught us to pray to our Father. If we belong to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, who alone is the way to the Father, we can come with confidence because His ear is open to His children. If someone has not yet come to Him, the first and most important prayer is simply, God be merciful to me, a sinner. That prayer opens the relationship that makes all other prayer possible. From that place of belonging, prayer is not a way to get our own wishes done. Its first purpose is to seek that His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is worship as we become aware of His greatness, it is asking for our own daily needs, and it is intercession as we bring the needs of a lost world before Him. And when we pray, we open the door for God to do what He has long desired to do for us and through us, because He will not force His way against the will He has given us.
You also carry a burden for unity among believers when there are so many different political and cultural backgrounds. That desire honors the Lord. The disciples Jesus chose showed that same diversity. There was a tax collector who had worked for the occupying government and others who wanted to overthrow that government, along with fishermen and others from very different walks of life, yet they were made one by following Jesus. Our unity is not found in a party or a platform. It is found in Christ. We can love and welcome people from every background while still holding firmly to what Scripture teaches, that salvation is through Jesus alone, that marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy belongs only within that covenant. We can stand for the protection of unborn life, for truthfulness and freedom to speak, for honesty in teaching children, for care for the poor and the foreigner, for stewardship of creation, and for peace, without putting our hope in any human leader or system. Our ultimate hope is in the return of Jesus.
That is why your commitment to pray for those in authority is so biblical. Scripture urges that petitions, prayers and thanksgiving be made for all people and for all who govern, so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives in godliness. Government is ordained by God to preserve what is good and to restrain evil, and when it fails to do that, evil grows. We should pray for wisdom, for character, for a guard over their lips and for wise counsel around them, that they would do what is just, love mercy and walk humbly with God. This includes leaders at every level, from national to local, and those who serve in the military, in law enforcement, in fire and rescue, and in medicine. Praying for them does not mean we do nothing else. Like Nehemiah, who prayed and then set a watch and put people to work, prayer should come first and then lead to faithful action, whether that is voting with integrity, speaking truth in love, working for the welfare of the city where God has placed you, or making the most of the time He gives you.
You are right to see the larger spiritual reality behind world events. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, and there are unseen powers at work. That is why we are called to be alert and to keep praying for the nations, which God has promised to give to His Son as an inheritance, and for the advance of the gospel to all peoples as Jesus commanded His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. It is also why we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, knowing that true peace comes only through the blood of the cross, and we long for many among the Jewish people to come to faith in their Messiah. We pray too for the earth to swallow up false teaching, deception, persecution of believers, and hatred of the Jewish people, which is still so strong in many places around the world.
Bring your own community before the Lord as well. Ask Him to convict neighbors, students, teachers, workers, families and leaders of sin, righteousness and judgment, and to draw them to Jesus. Ask for a wall of His protection around your area and for daily provision, contentment, and the fruit of the Spirit in your own life. And remember those who are suffering for their faith, those in chains and those under pressure, that God would sustain them, deliver them according to His will, and use their witness.
Continue in prayer with thanksgiving, watching and persevering. Keep seeking His face, humbling yourself, turning from sin, and asking for His kingdom to come. Pray for open doors to speak the mystery of Christ, and then walk through those doors as He leads. May the Lord hear your prayers offered in the name of Jesus, align your heart more and more with His will, and use your life to help others find the rest that only Jesus gives.
All prayer starts with relationship. Jesus invited all who are weary and heavy laden to come to Him for rest, and He taught us to pray to our Father. If we belong to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, who alone is the way to the Father, we can come with confidence because His ear is open to His children. If someone has not yet come to Him, the first and most important prayer is simply, God be merciful to me, a sinner. That prayer opens the relationship that makes all other prayer possible. From that place of belonging, prayer is not a way to get our own wishes done. Its first purpose is to seek that His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is worship as we become aware of His greatness, it is asking for our own daily needs, and it is intercession as we bring the needs of a lost world before Him. And when we pray, we open the door for God to do what He has long desired to do for us and through us, because He will not force His way against the will He has given us.
You also carry a burden for unity among believers when there are so many different political and cultural backgrounds. That desire honors the Lord. The disciples Jesus chose showed that same diversity. There was a tax collector who had worked for the occupying government and others who wanted to overthrow that government, along with fishermen and others from very different walks of life, yet they were made one by following Jesus. Our unity is not found in a party or a platform. It is found in Christ. We can love and welcome people from every background while still holding firmly to what Scripture teaches, that salvation is through Jesus alone, that marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy belongs only within that covenant. We can stand for the protection of unborn life, for truthfulness and freedom to speak, for honesty in teaching children, for care for the poor and the foreigner, for stewardship of creation, and for peace, without putting our hope in any human leader or system. Our ultimate hope is in the return of Jesus.
That is why your commitment to pray for those in authority is so biblical. Scripture urges that petitions, prayers and thanksgiving be made for all people and for all who govern, so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives in godliness. Government is ordained by God to preserve what is good and to restrain evil, and when it fails to do that, evil grows. We should pray for wisdom, for character, for a guard over their lips and for wise counsel around them, that they would do what is just, love mercy and walk humbly with God. This includes leaders at every level, from national to local, and those who serve in the military, in law enforcement, in fire and rescue, and in medicine. Praying for them does not mean we do nothing else. Like Nehemiah, who prayed and then set a watch and put people to work, prayer should come first and then lead to faithful action, whether that is voting with integrity, speaking truth in love, working for the welfare of the city where God has placed you, or making the most of the time He gives you.
You are right to see the larger spiritual reality behind world events. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, and there are unseen powers at work. That is why we are called to be alert and to keep praying for the nations, which God has promised to give to His Son as an inheritance, and for the advance of the gospel to all peoples as Jesus commanded His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. It is also why we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, knowing that true peace comes only through the blood of the cross, and we long for many among the Jewish people to come to faith in their Messiah. We pray too for the earth to swallow up false teaching, deception, persecution of believers, and hatred of the Jewish people, which is still so strong in many places around the world.
Bring your own community before the Lord as well. Ask Him to convict neighbors, students, teachers, workers, families and leaders of sin, righteousness and judgment, and to draw them to Jesus. Ask for a wall of His protection around your area and for daily provision, contentment, and the fruit of the Spirit in your own life. And remember those who are suffering for their faith, those in chains and those under pressure, that God would sustain them, deliver them according to His will, and use their witness.
Continue in prayer with thanksgiving, watching and persevering. Keep seeking His face, humbling yourself, turning from sin, and asking for His kingdom to come. Pray for open doors to speak the mystery of Christ, and then walk through those doors as He leads. May the Lord hear your prayers offered in the name of Jesus, align your heart more and more with His will, and use your life to help others find the rest that only Jesus gives.
