Your heartfelt intercession for those in authority, for those who serve, and for the open proclamation of the gospel is deeply appreciated and fully biblical. We join you in bringing these burdens before the throne of grace.
Scripture urges us to offer prayers, petitions, intercession and thanksgiving for all who are in authority, so that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in godliness and dignity. That kind of peace is not an end in itself. It is good and pleasing to God because it opens the way for the gospel to go forward, for God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Your prayer for leaders, for those who command and those who serve under them, for freedom of speech and for a stable order in which the good news of Jesus Christ can be freely shared in keeping with Matthew 28:19-20, stands squarely on 1 Timothy 2:1-4.
A central part of your request is for wisdom, and that is exactly what leaders most need. The Bible presents wisdom as calling out in the streets, inviting everyone to come and receive what she has prepared, like a banquet set for all who will come. Wisdom is more valuable than rubies or riches, and nothing we desire can compare with it. The starting place for that wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Knowledge may give facts, but wisdom gives the ability to use knowledge rightly. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, so to seek wisdom is to seek Him.
There are two kinds of wisdom. One is earthly, sensual and driven by envy and selfish ambition. That wisdom leads to confusion, strife and wars. The other is from above. It is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits. It sows peace and reaps a harvest of righteousness. When you pray for those in authority, you are asking God to turn them from the wisdom of this world, which comes to nothing, to the wisdom that comes from Him, which brings peace with God and peace among people. Through Christ, God has offered a peace treaty to those at war with Him, though sins are as scarlet they can be made white as snow. Only when a person knows the grace of God can he know the peace of God, and only then can he help lead others toward peace.
You also prayed for protection and for God to restrain evil. That is right, for our struggle is not only against flesh and blood but against the rulers and powers of darkness and spiritual forces of evil. We are taught to stand clothed in the armor of God and to pray at all times with all kinds of prayer. God has promised to be a refuge, that His angel encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them, and that He gives His angels charge to serve and guard His people. As you cited, Psalm 91 and Psalm 34:7 and Hebrews 1:14 remind us that God is able to guard, to deliver, and to frustrate the plans of those who intend evil, as He did when He revealed the plans of the king of Syria to Elisha and when He warned David of Saul's intent. We can ask Him to bring confusion to evil schemes, to restrain retaliation, and to deliver leaders and those who serve from temptation and from the schemes of the evil one, who is a liar and murderer from the beginning.
The purpose of government in God's design is to preserve what is good. When it does that well, it helps provide the order in which people can live securely and hear the gospel. We pray that God will guide all who hold authority to fulfill that purpose justly, to restrain evil and to uphold what is good, and above all that many of them, and many under their care, will come to salvation through Jesus Christ alone.
We continue with you in prayer that God will grant wisdom and discernment to every leader and to every person who serves, that He will protect them from spiritual and physical harm, that He will grant peace where peace is possible, and that He will keep the door open for the gospel to be proclaimed clearly and freely. May the Lord strengthen you as you persevere in prayer, trusting that He hears and answers according to His perfect will.