Praying for Authority

Solomon was a wise and righteous king who left us with many proverbs about how a king should exercise authority.  The apostle Paul lived under the rule of an unrighteous emperor and yet he still encouraged Christians to live in submission to the leaders placed over them.  His reason, authority comes from God.  As followers of any person in authority (whether we agree with them or not) the most vital thing we can do is to genuinely pray for them. 

We created a list from the proverbs of things we should pray for our leaders:

• Wise counsel
• Clarity
• Unity
• Righteousness in decisions and actions
• Flee from sin
• Not tolerate evil; demand righteousness and justice
• Get back to our roots
• Submit desires and will to God
• Prayers for ourselves:
• Patience
• God's will
• Self control
• Soft heart

The Challenge is simple: Use this list above to pray for those in authority over you.  Pray as a family, pray as a couple and pray on your own.  But also, use the list above to pray for yourself as you exercise your God given authority over your children, subordinates, etc.

In Him,
Aaron

P.S.  My son chose to play the song below on our ride home from church.  Since it is steeped in political commentary I thought I'd share: