Happy Friday, all!
I'm going to focus strictly on Psalm 106 today. As I read through it a couple of times, I found myself longing for a shepherd who would lead his flock in a prayer like this ~ a prayer of repentance and praise for God's loving mercy and restoring grace.
I couldn't help but think about the U.S. presidents of the past who occasionally called for a "national day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer." Some of their proclamations read very similarly to this Psalm, cataloguing sins like pride and forsaking God to pursue selfish desires. They beg God for forgiveness and restoration, recalling His goodness and blessing in the past and petitioning for His favour to be restored once more.
While our calendars may still include a National Day of Prayer and some leaders still acknowledge the value of this annual observance, we don't see the reverence for the supremacy of God, the expression of sorrow over sin, the recognition that repentance is required for restoration, or the desire for God to once again be central to our homes, churches and governments anymore.
I think now, more than ever, we need to pray for our government officials. I remember reading somewhere, sometime (don't remember either, of course!) the reminder that we not only need to pray for our leaders to be wise and just, but we need to intercede for them and pray they will come to a saving knowledge of God. We may beg and plead for it with tears in our eyes when we pray for family members or friends, but I'll confess, I rarely even think about it when I pray for our elected and appointed officials. Shoot, I have to confess I rarely pray for them at all, let alone begging for their salvation.
But truly, if we want to be led by God-fearing, publicly-elected leaders, we need to pray for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives, opening their eyes to their desperate need for a Saviour. Let's face it, the likelihood of a Christian being elected is slim for several reasons, but the potential for an elected official to come to Christ is limitless! As is the power of prayer.
In a way, I feel like I've just gone off on a serious tangent, but at the same time... wouldn't you love to hear Psalm 106 paraphrased and proclaimed from Parliament Hill or the Oval Office by our national leaders?
Then WE need to pray.
Tomorrow's passages: Psalm 113-115; 1 Thessalonians 3
3 comments:
Great reminder! I often forget to pray for our leaders, but it is so important! Thank-you!
I've really appreciated the National House of Prayer segments on CHVN (our local Christian radio station) lately - they often focus on praying for our government leaders. Such a great reminder.
In that same Psalm this section stood out for me....
They soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test. So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them (v13-15)
Reminds me of the saying - be careful what you pray for, you might get it. We think we know what we want and need, but we need to trust that GOD knows what we need/want better than we ever could. He may give us what we ask for, even if it's not best for us - just like He did with the Israelites. So important to align our will with His and pray accordingly!!
Excellent thoughts. I loved this; "Let's face it, the likelihood of a Christian being elected is slim for several reasons, but the potential for an elected official to come to Christ is limitless! As is the power of prayer."
Tammy, I was thinking the exact same thing about the National House of Prayer segments. I feel blessed and encouraged to have a Christian radio station to listen to. This should be something that I lift up to in thanks more often than I do.
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