Praying for the seven Mountains of influence (I) Government

Fifty or more years ago there was not a lot of difference between the Left and the Right, between Liberal and Conservative. Among Christians you might hear things like “Politics is a dirty business, best to stay clear.” And by and large that's what Christians did, but slowly over the years, and not so slowly at times, Judaeo-Christain values have been under attack, and we Christians have been asleep. Now there's no such thing as perfect government, there cannot be, because ultimately it is run by flawed human beings. So in particular Western Democracy is not perfect, but if history is to teach us anything, anything else is worse. At the last election here in Canada, Christians were starting to wake up and pray, and that is a good thing, but it is a mistake to think one party is completely correct, and the other completely wrong. In the best of all world Liberal and Conservative will keep the other in balance, and to some extent fifty years ago that worked quite well.

The extremes are the biggest problem on both sides. I'll mention just one issue, the size and power of government. Too much regulation, for example, can hamstring innovation, tying things up in red tape. Too little structure brings chaos, too much becomes rigid and unyielding to change. Even the right amount of structure can becomes rigid and/or corrupt. When one party dominates, things will likely get out of balance, and then we need the other side to bring things back to centre. Three Scriptures come to mind, firstly 2 Timothy 2:1-3 commands all Christians to intercede and give thanks for “kings” and all in authority; secondly “When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice” (Proverbs 29:2); and thirdly “the king's heart is in the Lord's hand. He can turn it however He wants” (Proverbs 21:1). So first and foremost we need to pray for men and women of integrity to come in government at all levels (local, provincial and federal), and we need to pray for those already there, that the Lord will change their hearts when needed.

I should confess that until recently I was a Christians who was asleep. I rarely if ever prayed for our leaders. And since the Lord can change hearts, we need to pray for them even if we don't agree, well perhaps especially if we don't agree. I did vote, but I had not even joined a party. And I am aware that may Christians do not even vote, let alone join a party, and then some of us need to become involved at the grass roots. In this current climate our children are greatly at risk. And we need to be informed. But where are we going to get the time? Good question, and clearly the Lord will not call all of us to be deeply involved, but we can all vote, and we can all be informed as we seek to understand the times and to know what to do (2 Chronicles 7:14)!

Father, help us (me) to pray and to be consistent in praying for government at all levels. Father bring godly men and women into government, and raise up godly council and Your prophets to speak wisdom and direction to all in positions of influence. Wake us up Lord, we are in a battle for our children, for our faith and for our culture. Forgive us Lord for our apathy. Show us where and how to be involved, and Lord please heal our Land in Jesus Name Amen