5 Verses You Need to Pray for People in Authority
The Bible tells me to pray for those in authority.
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1–4
That’s “pray for all people” … ask God to help them and give thanks for them.
Truthfully it’s the message of God’s love…
And He wants everyone to be saved and understand the truth.
Praying for “everyone” is somehow easier than praying for people in authority … for the people in charge.
Oooh, admit it, there are some in authority for whom you’d just like to pray that they would no longer be in authority.
Maybe it’s your boss, or your child’s teacher, or your local sheriff or chief of police. Maybe it’s your pastor or an elected official.
You see, having a position of authority simply means that the individual has the power to tell you what to do.
And oh how you and I can push back against being told what to do.
But Paul wrote these words to Timothy because prayer and actively living out the love of Jesus are two things the Holy Spirit uses to draw people to an understanding of the truth.
I’ll be honest with you, I’m not thrilled with every authority figure in my life.
I’ve also realized there are only a few things I can do about it.
I can…
1. Complain
2. Move
3. Pray
I’ve decided prayer is the best option. Maybe you’d like to join me…
5 Verses You Need to Pray for People in Charge
Search for the Lord and for His strength; continually seek Him.
1 Chronicles 16:11
Father, I pray __________ will seek You first. I ask You to give them a desire to know and trust You. I ask You to teach them the truth of Your commands and that he/she will want trust and obey You, Father, above all else.
May they not be influenced by popularity, possessions, or power but be completely surrendered to Your will for themselves and for the people they lead. Amen.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5–6
Father, I pray that ____________ will love and trust You completely. Please help them understand how much they need You … that they need Your wisdom and truth.
May __________ seek Your will before making decisions, especially when they are making decisions that influence and affect others. Please guide and direct him/her and by the power of Your Spirit, help __________ to follow where You lead. Amen.
For the Lord grants wisdom! From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to H
Proverbs 2:6–8im .
Father, You give wisdom and knowledge and understanding. Please work on ______________’s heart. I pray that You will make him/her faithful to You and to Your Word. Give __________ a passion for truth and honesty, and by Your grace give them the blessing of common sense for life choices.
Please make a desire for integrity important. May it not only be something __________ desires for themselves but may it be something they seek out in the people around them.
And Father, I ask You to be a shield of protection around them. Keep them safe from temptation, from evil, and from anyone who would harm them. Amen.
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
Micah 6:8
and this is what He requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
Father, please make Your will clear to __________ and give him/her a deep desire to follow it. May he/she know what it right and do it. Please give a heart of kindness and mercy as well as a humble heart that recognizes who they are before You.
By Your grace and the power of Your Spirit, may ___________ love you with all his/her heart, soul, mind, and strength and love others as they love themselves. Amen.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20
Father, However things appear, You are a God of miracles. You are able to change hearts and minds. And Father, I’ll admit that I may be the one who needs to change.
Teach me Your truth. Make me humble and kind. Help me to seek You first and let You do the work that’s needed in others.
I will pray in faith because You are always and forever able to accomplish so much more than I could ever ask or imagine. Thank you, Father! In Jesus name. Amen.
As hard as it is, even when it’s not my first instinct, I want to pray for people in authority. All of them … the ones I like and yes, even the ones I don’t because well, as Rev might say, “it’s downright Biblical.”
And by God’s grace, I will trust Him to work in hearts and minds … mine and those I lift up to Him in prayer.
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Deb, thank you very much for highlighting my post from last week! Your reminders for praying for our leaders is are spot-on. I needed the reminders, too, so thanks!
Ouch!! My toes!! I needed to hear this, as I would have thought I was praying for the political avenues of leadership, pastor, supervisor, etc., but i had a few names that were held in front of my eyes as a read this tonight that I need to be lifting up!!
My kids have had to memorize Romans 14 as part of their American Government curriculum, so I felt the need to take it on as well. I got a real sermon from it in the process about God’s plan for exercising HIS authority through elected officials.
What a good reminder. I always encourage my kids to pray for those they are struggling with, which I think is the idea here even though you mention leaders specifically. I tell them that people who hurt, anger, etc. them are likely experience those same emotions and we need to have conpasssion for them. It can be hard though!
These prayers are so timely, Deb, and another staunch reminder that we are to pray for all people, that they will come to know the Lord Jesus, and follow God’s will. Thank you!
Oh boy, Deb, so good! Thank you so much for this. I’ve got it bookmarked! Blessings!
Thank you for sharing these prayers, Deb. I am going to bite my tongue and pray them. I know I need to. I feel as though your post was aimed directly at me! 🙂
If people would pray more and complain less in politics… will share.
Prayed them all. Thank you. laurensparks.net
Such a great reminder for me. I’ve been struggling to continue in prayer for some in politics. Sometimes I’m swayed by earthly thinking and need a good shot in the arm to be called up to prayer once again for those in authority…even when it FEELS pointless!
Your husband is right Deb it’s downright biblical! And I must say somewhat neglected.
Blessings,
Jennifer
Thank you for reminding us to pray for “everyone.” The written out prayers are very helpful. Hope you had a nice weekend. Thank you for being so faithful in linking up your post to Grace & Truth Christian Link-Up.
Thank you for taking the time to do this. Prayer is the best resource. And we are commanded by the Father to do it. May we take to heart God’s commands and do them. Then God will prosper us. Joshua 1:8.
Thank you, Timothy! Amen! I pray His children will faithfully know, trust, and obey His will. He is so good and gracious promising to give us everything we need to do just that. God bless you!