Pray for Your Leaders

There are 535 men and women who serve as our members of Congress and these are just some of our country’s leaders. People who are government leaders, whether members of Congress, the President, the Cabinet, or even state representatives, are faced with difficult decisions daily in addition to balancing commitments to family and friends. Often, it is easy to forget about the person behind the political decisions they make. But when we take a moment to remember their humanity, it allows us to see them as a child of God who needs prayer just like you and me. 

When you are done praying for our leaders, send a note of encouragement to your members of Congress. Nearly 91 percent of Congress claims faith in Christ, so knowing that someone is praying for them and their work would be a real blessing. 

Pray for government leaders and their families.

Your leaders have families and responsibilities outside of work, but they also face some unique challenges. Between splitting their time in their home state and D.C. and working long hours in the office, many government leaders sacrifice time with their family to serve their constituents. Their families are also more often in the spotlight, causing additional stress. Pray that government leaders and their families would be strengthened by Christ, fulfilled by the time they have together, and supportive and encouraging of one another.

God, thank you for the men and women who serve our country in leadership roles and for their families. Please provide our leaders with reminders each day of why they decided to dedicate their lives to public service and use that to encourage them. Also, help them to not be frustrated or discouraged when their work takes them away from their families but provide them with peace. We also pray specifically for the wives, husbands, and children of our leaders. We ask that You would draw near to them and give them the wisdom on how to best support one another. 

Pray for their staff.

All of our country’s leaders have staff members who are working to answer phones, meet with constituents, respond to messages, and to help shape public policy. They work exhausting hours and have many difficult conversations, weighing the needs and desires of constituents. Pray for staff members as they navigate these conversations and respond to people’s concerns so they have the wisdom and stamina to steward the power of the office they represent for good.

We are so grateful for the staff of our leaders, Lord. They have such an important job keeping the offices running as they should. Please wrap your arms around these men and women to show them love, grace, strength, and encouragement. Provide them with the knowledge needed to approach each situation in the best way possible. Help them to know you and see your presence in the work they do. And, Father, give them the stamina to approach each day with their best foot forward and to find a balance between work and life so that they would be sustained. 

Pray for relationships they have with other leaders.

The leaders of our country rely on relationships to get their jobs done. Whether it is a relationship with another leader, constituents, or someone else — relationships are key to solving problems and leading a democracy. But when dealing with politics, it is easy for tensions to build. Pray that our leaders can approach each relationship they have with kindness and an attitude of openness. Ask God to guide their conversations with Christ-like love and humility.

Father, we are so grateful to be living in a democracy where we do not have one leader but many who all have a part in making sure the needs and desires of the nation’s citizens are heard and met. As our leaders work together to find solutions to difficult problems, we ask that you would guide them to speak respectfully and with humility to one another. Help them to show Christ-like love to those they interact with and be an advocate for their constituents and others.

Pray that their hearts would lead them to care for the most vulnerable.

Our leaders have a lot of pressing issues to address, and it can be easy for them to forget issues that they may seem further removed from or that they don’t hear from constituents about. But our leaders have the ability to help end global poverty through policy change. Pray that they would hear from constituents on issues that are impacting the most vulnerable and that they would be moved to action.

Lord, thank you for leaders who care about issues impacting the most vulnerable. We ask that you would move more leaders to care for those in need, especially the children. Please provide constituents with the drive to reach out to their government leaders on issues surrounding global poverty and soften leaders’ hearts toward these issues. 

Pray that they would be courageous in representing their constituents.

Our leaders are juggling their own interests, the interest of many constituents, and sometimes the interest of organizations. It can be hard to find solutions that represent the desires and needs of everyone. Pray that our government leaders would have the tools they need to represent all of their constituents well and to be courageous in upholding their values.

We are so grateful that we have leaders that not only need to listen to us but also want to, God. Please be with our government officials as they try to weigh the pros and cons of each constituent’s request and give them wisdom on how to best represent everyone. Father, we also want to ask that you would give our leaders courage so that even when it is hard they would continue to boldly represent their constituents’ needs. Amen.

Photo: Praying for Congresswoman Kristi Noem at The Monocle restaurant on Capitol Hill during the World Vision Pastor and Influencer Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, January 31, 2017. © 2017 World Vision/ photo by Garrett Hubbard