bf92878170312fe2b62bffb04fda110fIn the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.  Proverbs 21:1 NIV

I am going to stick my toe into the frigid cold water of the “Do Not Enter” political arena. Who are you voting for in the upcoming presidential primary? It really doesn’t matter to me, seriously. The real question that I want to ask is, “Who are you praying for among the presidential candidates?” I did not ask, “who do you want to win?” Nor did I ask for the reasons that you think your candidate is the better choice. “Who are you lifting up before the Lord, that God would bless them?”

When it comes to leaders in authority many people know how to bless them…bless them out that is.  We find ourselves judging their motives, their decisions, their perceived lack of care, their arrogance, their unfair demands and the frustration that we have to live under their authority. If you think the last sentence was about a president, I was actually giving responses that youth have shared with me over the years about their parents. If you are a parent, perhaps you have had some of this shared about you. The natural wicked bent in our lives is wanting to resist living under authority. It doesn’t work out too good, ask Adam and Eve.

Two points from our verse that King Solomon shares with us that can give us great hope.

  1. God is sovereign in the realm of authority. The verse did not say that only good king’s hearts are held in His hand. All authority figures are in the hand of God.
    1. He holds the hearts of all kings or those in authority in His hand. Perhaps with a ruthless authority, God may use to bring about a deep sense of repentance and crying out to the Lord.
    2. God is active in all areas of authority. He reaches out to the authority head and for those they lead. Simultaneously, God is working on both hearts. Wicked Kings can cause great suffering, God is close to the broken hearted. Even unrighteous leaders can make decisions that bring hope and blessings for those they lead.
  2. God can direct the blessings that an authority figure has to offer.
    1. We must learn to speak blessing over leadership instead of cursing. We use our words and prayers to ask God’s favor to rest upon their lives.
    2. Judge not lest you be judged, bless others that you may inherit a blessing. Think about this principle and how it applies to those in authority over you, especially those you disagree with. Being critical of the authority limits the flow of God’s blessings and causes damage to our own hearts.
    3. Asking for blessing in a person’s life, is not ignoring or condoning their faults. Blessing, align’s our hearts with God’s first desire to show kindness and goodness to us. Let God work on their heart for salvation or judgment, that’s God’s arena.

Praying blessing for those in authority is not limited to the political arena. Pray blessings for your boss, your owner, your teachers, your police officials, your judges, your legislative representatives, and your mom and dad. Let me get you started.

“Father God, please bless our President. May your favor rest upon him in his decisions and speech. May you direct his path as it affects people in the USA and the world. May the salvation relationship of Jesus be fully manifested in his life. Bless him with good health.” How would you like someone praying that prayer for you everyday?

Blessings, Love y’all