by Dr. Mark Creech
Director of Government Relations
Return America
Saturday, August 29th, Christians from across North Carolina gathered in Lexington for Pray North Carolina, a statewide call to prayer.
The gathering was held at the Edward C. Smith Civic Center from noon until 2:00 p.m. Its appeal was quite simple but desperately needed: lay aside the divisions that so often separate us and come together before God to pray for our state, our nation, and our communities.
I was given the privilege of offering the prayer for our lawmakers and others who serve in government.
I did not take that assignment lightly.
For 26 years, much of my ministry has taken me into the public policy arena. I have walked the halls of the North Carolina General Assembly, sat in lawmakers’ offices, testified before legislative committees, advocated for legislation, opposed measures I believed would harm our state, and sought to bring biblical principles to bear upon the great moral questions confronting North Carolina.
Through those years, I have learned something that people looking at government from a distance can sometimes forget: legislators are human beings.
They carry enormous responsibilities. They face competing pressures. They make decisions that can affect millions of people. They have families, burdens, temptations, fears, ambitions, convictions, and weaknesses just like the rest of us.
Sometimes they make wise decisions. Sometimes they make grievous mistakes. Sometimes courage costs them politically. Sometimes political pressure gets the better of them.
Christians certainly have a responsibility to speak truth to government. Sometimes we must oppose what our leaders do. Sometimes silence amounts to moral cowardice.
But another responsibility comes first.
We must pray for them.
The apostle Paul wrote:
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
Notice that Paul did not condition that command upon whether Christians approved of their rulers.
The government of Paul’s day was hardly sympathetic to Christianity. Yet God’s people were still instructed to bring those in authority before the throne of grace.
That ought to say something to us in our bitterly divided political climate.
Prayer for our leaders is not an endorsement of everything they do. Neither does civility require the surrender of conviction. We may vigorously contend for what is right while remembering that every person with whom we disagree bears the dignity of one made in the image of God.
Nor should our prayers be confined to asking God to change them.
Before we point toward the sins of government, the church and the nation must also look inward. We need God’s cleansing. We need His mercy. We need deliverance from our own pride, anger, bitterness, and self-righteousness.
After more than a quarter-century working in this arena, perhaps the greatest lesson I have learned is this: government matters tremendously, but government cannot save us.
Our ultimate hope is not in a legislature, a governor, a president, a political party, an election, or a court.
Our hope is in God alone.
That really needs to sink in!
And because Scripture says that “the king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD” (Proverbs 21:1), prayer is not merely ceremonial. God can intervene where we cannot. He can change hearts that arguments cannot change. He can frustrate harmful purposes, open doors that seemed tightly shut, redeem what was intended wrongly, and order human affairs according to His providence.
So, when I stood to pray Saturday, I did so with humility and gratitude for the privilege, but also with a deep consciousness of our desperate need as a people.
This is the prayer I offered:
Prayer
Gracious God in Heaven, our Heavenly Father, through faith in Jesus Christ,
We come before You this day mindful of Your Word, which commands us to pray for those who are in authority. We acknowledge that all rightful authority ultimately comes from You, and that those who govern will one day give an account before the King of kings and the Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ.
We pray today for our President, for the members of Congress, for our Governor, and especially for the men and women who serve in our state legislature.
Lord, give them wisdom. The matters before them are often very complicated, and the consequences of their decisions often reach far beyond what they or we can presently see. Grant them understanding to distinguish between what merely seems good and what truly serves the common good.
Give them courage. When doing what is right is unpopular, costly, or politically dangerous, strengthen them to stand. Deliver them from the fear of man, from political expediency, and from the temptation to place personal ambitions above principle.
Grant them integrity. Guard them from corruption, dishonesty, pride, and the seduction of power. Surround them with wise, courageous, and truthful counselors. Close their ears to flattery, deception, and voices that would lead them astray, and open their hearts to those who will speak the truth, even when the truth is difficult to hear.
Lord, give them hearts committed to justice and mercy. Cause them to remember the weak, the vulnerable, the poor, the elderly, the unborn, our children, the oppressed, the forgotten, and all those who cannot easily speak or defend themselves in the halls of government. Give them courage to protect the innocent, restrain evil, defend what is right, and govern with concern not only for the present generation, but for those who will come after us.
Protect their homes and families. Public service brings pressures that many people never see. Strengthen their marriages, protect their children, sustain their health, guard their hearts and minds, and grant them times of rest, renewal, and peace.
We pray for greater civility in public life. May disagreement never descend into hatred, contempt, or personal destruction. Help our leaders to contend earnestly for what is right, while still recognizing the God-given dignity of those with whom they disagree. Teach them to speak the truth with courage and conviction, but also with humility, restraint, and grace.
Most of all, Father, we pray for their souls. For those who do not know Christ, bring them to repentance and saving faith. For apart from the light of Your salvation, even those entrusted with leading others may themselves walk in darkness. For those who genuinely profess Your name, give them grace to live worthy of that profession. May they never be ashamed of Christ, and may their public service bear witness to His truth, righteousness, wisdom, and grace.
Cleanse us, O Lord, from our many sins, for some are grievous in Your sight—the shedding of innocent blood, sexual immorality, greed and materialism, racial hatred and injustice, violence, deceit and treachery, the weakening of marriage and family, our thanklessness for Your many blessings, and our prideful refusal to acknowledge Your sovereignty. Forgive us for calling evil good and good evil, and for trusting in ourselves rather than in You. Deliver us from bitterness, pride, anger, and a spirit of self-righteousness.
Your Holy Word declares that “the king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD.” Therefore, O God, intervene for us. We desperately need Your mercy. Turn the hearts of those who govern according to Your will. Overrule and redeem wrong purposes, frustrate harmful designs, open doors for what is right, and in Your mercy direct the affairs of our state and nation toward righteousness, true liberty under Your law, and peace.
We ask these things not because we place our ultimate hope in government, but because our hope is in You alone.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray,
Amen.
