Prayer for Civil Authorities
A Prayer for Civil Authorities
O gracious Father,
Your name is great above the heavens and worthy to be praised, the one who all shall fear above all gods. Splendor and majesty are before you, let us ascribe to you the Glory that is deserved of you in the spender of your holiness. LORD you reign! Let all the nations say, you reign, let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice (Ps 96:4-10).
O exalted Son, Jesus Christ,
The government sits upon your shoulders, the ruler of all, the wonderful counsellor, mighty God, prince of Peace. Seated on the throne of David governing his kingdom with justice and judgment; above all other principalities, power might and dominion, with all things under your feet; and head over all things to the church (Is 9:6-7 cf. Eph 5:23). Christ, you entered this world in which you created and were crucified, you died and were buried, by the hands of men but not outside of your kingship. Exalted with the name above all names so that every knee should bow, in heaven and earth and every tongue confess that you are Lord. Seated at the right hand of the father where you will judge the living and the dead (Phil 2:6-10 cf. 2 Tim 4:1).
O blessed Spirit,
Through you we see our brokenness and God’s great glory; the one who opens our eyes that once only saw darkness now we see your great splendor (Is 35:5; Eph 1:18). The one who leads us to the truth and fills us with knowledge (Jn 16:13). Pointing us to the merciful Father who has adopted us as his children through the acts of Jesus Christ (Rom 8:14-17). Only you can change a man’s heart no matter how strong he may be in the eyes of the world. You can bring the most powerful leader to their knees when you touch their heart (Pr 21:1; Ps 20:8). We give thanks that you work in the hearts of wicked men and point them to the good news of your amazing grace. (1 Tim 1:15; Eph 2:8-9)
LORD, we pray for our leaders and civil authorities, whom you have placed to rule this temporal kingdom. We lift up the kings and queens, presidents and prime-ministers and all who are in high positions, that they may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. That they might see you as LORD of their life and bow before the one true king, Jesus Christ. Give them wisdom to be able to act justly and show mercy, give them knowledge of their depraved hearts but also your glorious mercy which is found in the King of kings, Jesus Christ (1 Tim 6:15; Rev 19:16). We pray for the ones who rule wickedly and encourage injustice that they would see their sin and change their ways, but we know that you remove kings and establish kings, that you are the one who can change the heart of a king like water flowing through your hand (Pr 25:5; cf. Dan 2:21). We thank you for the humble servants who serve you in their positions of authority, that they see you as their ultimate authority, continue to bless them and protect them from the snares of the devil (1 Tim 2:1-5).
Eternal God, we thank you that although this earth is filled with wickedness that we see that we are citizens of a heavenly realm, we know we will be judged according to our deeds and we can only look to Christ as our Lord and Savior (Phil 3:20 cf. Col 3:15-17). We once were sojourners but now we are citizens of your kingdom as we live as pilgrims in this temporal land. Let us obey you rather than men (Acts 5:29). Let your kingdom come and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10).
May we forever seek to be governed by your holy Word and seat you upon the throne of our lives. Forgive us for the times when we begin to call ourselves the lord and master in our lives when the old man seats upon your throne. Let us seek your face and glory far above the praises of man and let us trust in your sovereign plan even in this fallen world, you still reign above all.
All these requests we present to you, in the name of our wonderful counselor and king, Jesus Christ.
AMEN.
