Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing this burden for prayer. Your intercession lines up directly with what Scripture commands when it says to offer prayers, petitions and thanksgiving for all in authority so that we may live peaceful and godly lives, which God desires because He wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Your request for wisdom for leaders is especially needed. Scripture pictures wisdom as calling out openly in the streets and inviting everyone to come and receive what she has prepared, like a banquet that is ready. That invitation is for all, including those who carry heavy responsibility for governing and for protecting others. Wisdom is described as more valuable than rubies and better than wealth or position, and nothing we might desire compares to it. That is why we are told that wisdom is the principal thing, to get wisdom and with it understanding.
The starting place for that wisdom is reverence for the Lord. Knowledge can give us facts, but wisdom knows how to apply those facts rightly. Leaders can have great knowledge, information and strategy, yet still lack the wisdom to use it well. True wisdom begins with humbling ourselves before God and hating what is evil.
Scripture also makes a clear distinction between two kinds of wisdom. One kind is earthly and self focused. It leads to envy, strife and confusion and it does not come from God. The other is the wisdom that comes from above. That wisdom is pure, peaceable and produces good fruit in a life. You can recognize which wisdom a person is following by what it produces. The wisdom of this world, even at its highest, is shown to be foolish when it tries to find meaning or direction apart from God. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and He is made wisdom for us.
This is why the prayer of Solomon is such a helpful pattern for praying for those in authority. When he was given the opportunity to ask for anything, he did not ask for riches or honor but for wisdom to govern well, and God was pleased with that request and added blessing beyond it. We can pray in the same way that God would give to our leaders, from the highest offices to those who serve in the ranks, a heart that seeks His wisdom rather than leaning on human understanding alone.
We join you in praying for protection as well. God promises to be a refuge for those who trust Him, to command His angels to guard His people, and to encamp around those who fear Him and deliver them. We live in a real spiritual conflict and are told to stand against the forces of darkness with the armor God provides, continuing in all kinds of prayer. We can ask the Lord to restrain evil, to bring confusion to evil plans, to deliver leaders from temptation and evil, and to strengthen what is good and just so that order is maintained.
The reason we pray for peace and good government is not simply for comfort, but so that the gospel can be proclaimed openly, the Bible can be taught freely, and people can hear the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ alone. That freedom to speak the truth and to share the gospel is worth praying for continually and with thanksgiving, trusting that God hears the prayers of His people.
May the Lord continue to give you faithfulness in prayer, grant wisdom from above to all who bear responsibility, guard those who serve, and open doors for the gospel to go forward. We thank God for your example in bringing these matters before His throne of grace in the name of Jesus.
Your request for wisdom for leaders is especially needed. Scripture pictures wisdom as calling out openly in the streets and inviting everyone to come and receive what she has prepared, like a banquet that is ready. That invitation is for all, including those who carry heavy responsibility for governing and for protecting others. Wisdom is described as more valuable than rubies and better than wealth or position, and nothing we might desire compares to it. That is why we are told that wisdom is the principal thing, to get wisdom and with it understanding.
The starting place for that wisdom is reverence for the Lord. Knowledge can give us facts, but wisdom knows how to apply those facts rightly. Leaders can have great knowledge, information and strategy, yet still lack the wisdom to use it well. True wisdom begins with humbling ourselves before God and hating what is evil.
Scripture also makes a clear distinction between two kinds of wisdom. One kind is earthly and self focused. It leads to envy, strife and confusion and it does not come from God. The other is the wisdom that comes from above. That wisdom is pure, peaceable and produces good fruit in a life. You can recognize which wisdom a person is following by what it produces. The wisdom of this world, even at its highest, is shown to be foolish when it tries to find meaning or direction apart from God. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and He is made wisdom for us.
This is why the prayer of Solomon is such a helpful pattern for praying for those in authority. When he was given the opportunity to ask for anything, he did not ask for riches or honor but for wisdom to govern well, and God was pleased with that request and added blessing beyond it. We can pray in the same way that God would give to our leaders, from the highest offices to those who serve in the ranks, a heart that seeks His wisdom rather than leaning on human understanding alone.
We join you in praying for protection as well. God promises to be a refuge for those who trust Him, to command His angels to guard His people, and to encamp around those who fear Him and deliver them. We live in a real spiritual conflict and are told to stand against the forces of darkness with the armor God provides, continuing in all kinds of prayer. We can ask the Lord to restrain evil, to bring confusion to evil plans, to deliver leaders from temptation and evil, and to strengthen what is good and just so that order is maintained.
The reason we pray for peace and good government is not simply for comfort, but so that the gospel can be proclaimed openly, the Bible can be taught freely, and people can hear the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ alone. That freedom to speak the truth and to share the gospel is worth praying for continually and with thanksgiving, trusting that God hears the prayers of His people.
May the Lord continue to give you faithfulness in prayer, grant wisdom from above to all who bear responsibility, guard those who serve, and open doors for the gospel to go forward. We thank God for your example in bringing these matters before His throne of grace in the name of Jesus.
