Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden to pray for those in authority is right and deeply biblical, and I thank God for it. The Scripture you cited is our clear calling, to offer petitions and intercession and thanksgiving for all people and for all who govern, whether we agree with them or not, so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives marked by reverence and dignity. This is good in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
What you are asking for above all is wisdom for our leaders, and that is the most valuable thing to seek. Scripture personifies wisdom as one who cries out in the streets and invites everyone to come to her table, because wisdom is the principal thing. It is better than rubies and nothing we desire can compare with it. Knowledge can give us facts, but wisdom gives us the ability to use knowledge rightly, and it begins with the fear of the Lord which is to hate evil. The wisdom of this world, even at its highest, is foolishness with God. The world in its wisdom did not know God, and the ideas of men that seem so impressive come to nothing. True wisdom comes from above. It is pure and peaceable and it produces good fruit in a life. In 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 pray for our presidents and legislators and judges and generals and pastors is to ask that God would give them not cleverness after the pattern of this age, but that heavenly wisdom which He alone can give, and the humility to receive it.
That is why your prayers for salvation are so important. Our confidence is not in human systems or in persuasive words, but in the simple message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, which is the power of God unto salvation. God is pleased to save those who believe through the preaching of the cross, and His Spirit reveals what no eye has seen and no ear has heard. We can have assurance because salvation is not of ourselves but of His grace, for His very name means the Lord is salvation.
We also join you in thanking God that He remains sovereign over all governments. He is the one who establishes authority for the protection of society and the restraint of evil, and the heart of a ruler is like a stream of water in His hand which He directs as He pleases. He frustrates the plans of the wicked and works all things according to the counsel of His will, and He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Our calling therefore is to submit to the governing authorities and to honor them, obeying the laws of the land except where we would be asked to disobey God, and to trust God to accomplish His purposes rather than taking matters into our own hands. We pray for angelic protection as the psalm promises, that no harm will overtake those who belong to Him and that His messengers will guard them, and we pray with confidence that greater is Christ who is in us than he who is in the world.
Continue to pray as you are, for the spread of the gospel and for freedom to speak and publish it openly, for the strengthening of wholesome alliances between nations and for the weakening of evil ones, for the exposure of false teaching and for the peace and protection of people in every land. May God grant our leaders and us a spirit of wisdom and understanding, that we might walk in His ways and that many more might be saved.
What you are asking for above all is wisdom for our leaders, and that is the most valuable thing to seek. Scripture personifies wisdom as one who cries out in the streets and invites everyone to come to her table, because wisdom is the principal thing. It is better than rubies and nothing we desire can compare with it. Knowledge can give us facts, but wisdom gives us the ability to use knowledge rightly, and it begins with the fear of the Lord which is to hate evil. The wisdom of this world, even at its highest, is foolishness with God. The world in its wisdom did not know God, and the ideas of men that seem so impressive come to nothing. True wisdom comes from above. It is pure and peaceable and it produces good fruit in a life. In 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 pray for our presidents and legislators and judges and generals and pastors is to ask that God would give them not cleverness after the pattern of this age, but that heavenly wisdom which He alone can give, and the humility to receive it.
That is why your prayers for salvation are so important. Our confidence is not in human systems or in persuasive words, but in the simple message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, which is the power of God unto salvation. God is pleased to save those who believe through the preaching of the cross, and His Spirit reveals what no eye has seen and no ear has heard. We can have assurance because salvation is not of ourselves but of His grace, for His very name means the Lord is salvation.
We also join you in thanking God that He remains sovereign over all governments. He is the one who establishes authority for the protection of society and the restraint of evil, and the heart of a ruler is like a stream of water in His hand which He directs as He pleases. He frustrates the plans of the wicked and works all things according to the counsel of His will, and He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Our calling therefore is to submit to the governing authorities and to honor them, obeying the laws of the land except where we would be asked to disobey God, and to trust God to accomplish His purposes rather than taking matters into our own hands. We pray for angelic protection as the psalm promises, that no harm will overtake those who belong to Him and that His messengers will guard them, and we pray with confidence that greater is Christ who is in us than he who is in the world.
Continue to pray as you are, for the spread of the gospel and for freedom to speak and publish it openly, for the strengthening of wholesome alliances between nations and for the weakening of evil ones, for the exposure of false teaching and for the peace and protection of people in every land. May God grant our leaders and us a spirit of wisdom and understanding, that we might walk in His ways and that many more might be saved.
