The President’s Day holiday is an important time to pray for our government leaders – not just our president, but all the people who work in leadership positions at every level of government – national, state, and local – throughout the United States. It’s easy to pray for leaders we admire or agree with. It’s much harder to pray for leaders who frustrate us, disappoint us, or make decisions we don’t understand. Yet, the Bible is clear that God calls us to pray for all our leaders, whether or not they share our values or earn our approval. Presidents, administration and department leaders, legislators like members of Congress and state assemblies, judges, governors, mayors, school boards, county and city councils, and more all make leadership decisions that affect our communities in ways we see every day. We need to pray for them.
When we pray for our leaders, we’re not saying we endorse every policy or decision they make. We’re also not giving up our responsibility to think critically, vote wisely, or speak up when we see leaders make decisions we think are wrong. But whether or not we support the people in charge, they’re leading us, and they need God’s help every day to do so well.
Praying for leaders not only helps them do their jobs better, but it also helps us by reminding us that God will send wisdom to our leaders and help them learn and grow in the process.
This President’s Day, let’s commit to praying for those who lead us throughout our nation. Here are 5 scriptures to pray over our leaders this President’s Day, along with reflections on what they mean and sample prayers to use.
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