Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer for those in authority reflects the heart of Scripture. God calls us to offer petitions, prayers and intercession for all people, and especially for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in godliness and holiness, and because God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
At the center of your request is wisdom, and that is exactly what rulers need most. Scripture presents wisdom as a person calling out in the streets and at the gates, inviting the simple and the foolish to turn from folly and live. Wisdom is better than rubies and better than gold or silver, and nothing we desire can compare with it. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, which is to hate evil and to turn from it. Knowledge may fill the mind, but wisdom rightly applies what we know, preserves us and gives life to those who hold fast to it.
Remember how Solomon prayed when he was given leadership. He did not ask for riches or honor or the defeat of his enemies, but for an understanding heart to govern well. God was pleased with that request and promised not only to give him wisdom but also to add what he had not asked for. In the same way we are told to seek wisdom as we would seek silver or hidden treasure. When we do, we find the knowledge of God, for the Lord gives wisdom and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. James reminds us that if any of us lacks wisdom we should ask God, who gives generously without reproach.
There is a sharp contrast between the wisdom God gives and the wisdom of this world. The world in its cleverness did not come to know God, and God has shown the wisdom of this world to be foolishness. Worldly wisdom is earthly and self serving, and where it rules there is envy, strife, confusion and every evil work. True wisdom is from above. It is pure and leads to purity rather than sensuality. In Jesus Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and He has been made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. To know Him is to find the source of true counsel.
You are right to pray that those who govern would be guided by the Word of God. The instruction given long ago was that a ruler should write for himself a copy of the law and read it all the days of his life, that he might learn to fear the Lord and keep His commandments. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, and those who meditate on it day and night walk in a way that preserves good. The very purpose of civil authority is to preserve what is good and to restrain evil. Laws are given for the lawless and disobedient, to hold back wrongdoing. When government fulfills that calling it protects the people, and when it abandons it the evil it tolerates will in time undermine it. For this reason we pray for good counsel, for in a multitude of counselors there is safety and victory is secured through wise guidance.
Your petitions for protection are also biblical. Jesus prayed that His people would be kept from the evil one, and we are promised that the Lord is faithful and will guard us from evil and give His angels charge over us. Like the prophet who was shown the secret plans of the enemy so they could be intercepted, God is able to expose falsehood, deception, leaks and evil schemes, and to turn people away from those who have only a form of godliness while denying its power. We can ask God to overrule and restrain evil rulers and the evil one himself, and to raise up those who will rule justly, for promotion does not come from east or west but God puts down one and lifts up another. At the same time we acknowledge there are no perfect rulers, and so we join the prayer our Lord taught us, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and with the apostles we say, Come, Lord Jesus.
Continue to bring these leaders before the Lord continually and with thanksgiving, trusting Him with all your heart rather than leaning on your own understanding. As you do, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. May the Lord grant to those in authority wisdom that begins with the fear of Him, a love for His Word, a willingness to receive godly counsel, and a commitment to preserve what is good, and may He keep them from temptation and deliver them from evil, while He works His sovereign purposes in this generation. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved, and in Him all the promises of God are yes and amen.
At the center of your request is wisdom, and that is exactly what rulers need most. Scripture presents wisdom as a person calling out in the streets and at the gates, inviting the simple and the foolish to turn from folly and live. Wisdom is better than rubies and better than gold or silver, and nothing we desire can compare with it. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, which is to hate evil and to turn from it. Knowledge may fill the mind, but wisdom rightly applies what we know, preserves us and gives life to those who hold fast to it.
Remember how Solomon prayed when he was given leadership. He did not ask for riches or honor or the defeat of his enemies, but for an understanding heart to govern well. God was pleased with that request and promised not only to give him wisdom but also to add what he had not asked for. In the same way we are told to seek wisdom as we would seek silver or hidden treasure. When we do, we find the knowledge of God, for the Lord gives wisdom and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. James reminds us that if any of us lacks wisdom we should ask God, who gives generously without reproach.
There is a sharp contrast between the wisdom God gives and the wisdom of this world. The world in its cleverness did not come to know God, and God has shown the wisdom of this world to be foolishness. Worldly wisdom is earthly and self serving, and where it rules there is envy, strife, confusion and every evil work. True wisdom is from above. It is pure and leads to purity rather than sensuality. In Jesus Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and He has been made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. To know Him is to find the source of true counsel.
You are right to pray that those who govern would be guided by the Word of God. The instruction given long ago was that a ruler should write for himself a copy of the law and read it all the days of his life, that he might learn to fear the Lord and keep His commandments. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, and those who meditate on it day and night walk in a way that preserves good. The very purpose of civil authority is to preserve what is good and to restrain evil. Laws are given for the lawless and disobedient, to hold back wrongdoing. When government fulfills that calling it protects the people, and when it abandons it the evil it tolerates will in time undermine it. For this reason we pray for good counsel, for in a multitude of counselors there is safety and victory is secured through wise guidance.
Your petitions for protection are also biblical. Jesus prayed that His people would be kept from the evil one, and we are promised that the Lord is faithful and will guard us from evil and give His angels charge over us. Like the prophet who was shown the secret plans of the enemy so they could be intercepted, God is able to expose falsehood, deception, leaks and evil schemes, and to turn people away from those who have only a form of godliness while denying its power. We can ask God to overrule and restrain evil rulers and the evil one himself, and to raise up those who will rule justly, for promotion does not come from east or west but God puts down one and lifts up another. At the same time we acknowledge there are no perfect rulers, and so we join the prayer our Lord taught us, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and with the apostles we say, Come, Lord Jesus.
Continue to bring these leaders before the Lord continually and with thanksgiving, trusting Him with all your heart rather than leaning on your own understanding. As you do, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. May the Lord grant to those in authority wisdom that begins with the fear of Him, a love for His Word, a willingness to receive godly counsel, and a commitment to preserve what is good, and may He keep them from temptation and deliver them from evil, while He works His sovereign purposes in this generation. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved, and in Him all the promises of God are yes and amen.
