For the last several weeks, God has been dealing with me to pray specifically for our leaders and all who are in authority based on I Timothy 2:1-4. I know. Praying this direction in an election year isn’t very original. It’s like fasting and praying in January. Everybody does it. But I’m going to go in a little different direction, and I’d love it if you would join me.
We are leaving politics at the door. And we aren’t touching social issues. These are important and there’s a place and a space to pray for these things, and trust me when I say I pray in these directions a lot for our leaders and our nation. But this isn’t that.
We will be focusing on praying for the salvation of our leaders that are lost, from those on the national level right down to our local government officials.
In 2018, I wrote a 28-day prayer devotional called Love the Lost. We prayed through it together at our church, and it was a powerful tool. We each had a list of names that we prayed for specifically each day and we saw tremendous fruit for the kingdom as many of these ones were saved.
And this is how I want to pray for our leaders. I’d like you to make a list of specific ones you’d like to see come to the saving knowledge of Christ. It’s okay to pick the tough cases. The ones that seem too far gone. The ones that really make your blood boil because you disagree with them so sharply. Those are the ones I’m going after.
I was so disheartened after watching the debate on Tuesday by the hatred being spewed in many of the posts on social media. I actually woke up Wednesday with this scripture in my heart –
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (I John 4:20 NKJV)
It’s so easy to separate what a leader does and how they act from who they were created to be and get frustrated, upset, and even angry because it doesn’t line up with our beliefs. And we can easily set them aside as hopeless and not pray. But all withholding our prayers does is leave them powerless to change.
No one is hopeless in the eyes of God. And we need to see them as God sees them. I believe as we begin to pray for these ones, really and fervently pray, God will begin to open our eyes to see them as He sees them, as part of the precious fruit of the earth.
What we might look at and call rotten God looks at and calls precious. He paid the same price for them He paid for us – the blood of Jesus. And He loves them as much as He loves you and me.
Things happen when we pray that don’t happen when we don’t pray.
I don’t know where I would be if people didn’t pray for me when I was without hope and without God. I might be lost still. But they prayed and God moved. He opened my eyes and helped me see. And I believe He can and will do the same for our leaders.
There are policies that need to change and social justice issues that need addressed and our leaders are definitely in a position to do that and need our prayers for that as well. But before any of that, they are lost souls in need of a Savior and I believe when we pray it opens the door for God to move and draw them close. Will you help me pray for them?
On Sunday October 4th, I will post an intro video and an explanation. If you want to check out the pdf online version of the prayer journal, click the link below to take you to a printable version. Then every day after that for 28 days, I will be posting a short video where we read the devotional and pray through the prayer points together. So check back here on Sunday for more details.
I’ll say it again. Things happen when we pray that don’t happen when we don’t pray. Will you join me on this journey? Will you pray with me?
https://teawithtoni.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Love-the-Lost-2020-28day-2.pdf