Your request to pray for kings and all in authority is good and according to Scripture, and we join you in it. The apostle exhorts us first of all that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence, for God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth through Jesus Christ alone.
We thank God for the authorities He has placed over us, for there is no authority except from God, and we ask Him to grant to presidents, prime ministers, cabinets and all counselors intelligence, character, protection and godly wisdom. We pray that He would set a guard over their mouths as Psalm 141 says and give them the tongue of the wise as Proverbs teaches, that they would be surrounded by godly counsel, turn from bitterness and rivalry, do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God, and that their leadership would promote righteousness and peace rather than division.
Prayer is a great weapon, and the affairs of every day are like a storm at sea. If we first make God favorable to us by prayer and supplication in the morning and at night, we go forth to our work with security, and even if enemies oppose us we need not fear. We also remember that we must be alert ourselves. It is good to have the prayer of others, and the prayer of brothers and sisters can do great things, as when the church prayed earnestly for Peter and for Paul and Silas, but that prayer helps most when we ourselves are watchful and humble and do not think we have no need of it.
Let every prayer be accompanied with thanksgiving. We do not pray against people or curse them, for cursing and praying are far apart and the mouth that has been given holy things should not utter what is bitter. We pray for our enemies as Christ commanded, that God would have mercy on them and bring them to repentance, and we pray for our leaders and nations that God would give them repentance and faith.
We agree with you in praying for unity among godly nations and peoples, that the Lord would give the nations as His inheritance and frustrate the plans of the enemy to divide and destroy. We pray for angelic protection and heavenly wisdom, and that leaders would seek the welfare of the peoples entrusted to them. We know there is a spiritual battle behind what is seen, and so we put on the armor of God and stand firm, asking that false teaching, deception, persecution and hatred would be swallowed up and that truth and justice would prevail, in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas and in every place.
We join you also in praying for our own regions and cities. As Jeremiah said, seek the welfare of the city where God has placed you and pray to the Lord on its behalf. We ask the Holy Spirit to convict neighbors, students, teachers, workers, parents, pastors, law enforcement and all who live and work among us of sin, righteousness and judgment to come, and to draw them to Jesus, for no one can come unless the Father draws him and faith comes by hearing the Word. We pray for a wall of protection around our communities and that God would keep His people from evil.
For provision we thank God for daily bread and ask Him to grant what is needed with godliness and contentment, to restore what has been lost, to give the fruit of the Spirit, especially love, joy and peace, and to make glad the hearts of those who have known affliction, that we may live not only for ourselves but for the common good, using whatever ability God has given, whether in protection, in giving, in teaching or in service, for His glory.
We remember those in chains as if bound with them, and the persecuted church throughout the world. We pray for release for prisoners of faith, for relief and courage for suffering believers, for the peace of Jerusalem and for all the descendants of Abraham to find salvation in Christ, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
May our prayers be aligned with God's will, that His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We continue with you in prayer with thanksgiving, trusting that God hears when His people humble themselves, pray and seek His face, and we ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone is the way, the truth and the life. Amen.