Praying for Our Leaders & Nation

A large amount of people’s praying is done for themselves; and the Bible DOES have a lot to say about that. God desires to answer our prayers and even tells us that we can come and ask Him before Him to receive answers to prayers for ourselves.

It is not wrong to pray for yourself, but we also need to get a vision of our prayer lives going further than just for ourselves.






Even when the subject of prayer is taught, a large amount of what is talked about relates to ‘self’ - my needs, wants, desires etc but it is interesting to note that the Bible firstly emphasises our prayer life in relation to OTHERS

A scriptural prayer life will understand this Biblical focus and develop it. Prayer needs to reach beyond the realms of just praying for ourselves into praying for others. Praying for the world, for the lost and unsaved, praying for our leaders and government, for our nation and lifting up individuals we know before the Lord in prayer.

There is an important role we can play in prayer, praying for churches and our church leaders. This helps them do what God has called them to do. Lift up our local churches in prayer, pray for boldness on the ministers, and open doors for them to minister.






This is a team effort and our prayers can play just as important a role in reaching people as the actual people out there doing the preaching. Our prayers can go out in front of them and pave the way, opening hearts, preparing people to receive, moving obstacles out of the way that could hinder people getting to where they need to preach etc.

Sadly however ‘prayer meetings’ are often the least supported church meetings. This is possibly because many people do not see any ‘personal’ benefit to going. ‘What am I going to get out of it?’, ‘What’s in it for me?’

Since prayer meetings are often a time of praying for things and people beyond yourself, they have a low turnout rate.

As Christians we need to learn that getting our prayer focus off ourselves all the time and onto others and the world around us is an essential part of doing what God has called us to do in the world. A lot of preaching of the gospel is not producing fruit because it is not being backed by prayer like it should.






The church in the book of Acts was a praying church and their evangelism and church growth were very effective.

We need to develop a heart to pray for others and for God’s plan for the nations and world. When we do so, getting our needs met become easier (because ‘self’ is not your motivation)



First things first



‘… First of all…’ There is a priority for prayer being given here.

When the Bible lays out a priority / order to do things, then we need to follow that priority. Often this priority in prayer is not followed because we are more often focused on praying for ourselves and our needs, but if we will begin to follow the Bible plan for our prayer lives, we will step into greater Bible results.

There are various groups or individuals we need to remember to pray for in connection to praying for others:  (We could spend time studying each of these. I encourage you to look up the scriptures listed with each one and see what the Word says about it)





The effect God’s people can have in a nation through prayer





God says if, ‘MY people’

He does not FIRSTLY place responsibility on the unsaved, but on His people in the land.

When the people of God do not take their place, it is no surprise that a nation turns to ungodliness. We have the God given responsibility to fulfil a role in our nations and to bring about a godly environment.

Often Christians get caught up in complaining about our country. Christians are spending more time complaining about their lands and leaders than praying for them. We complain about what the leaders do and laws that are being passed, but complaining is not praying!

Some may read this and ask, ‘But what good can my prayers do?’. People don’t bother praying because they are not convinced it will do any good. That is not true. God makes it clear in His Word that the prayers of the people of God in the nation can and do have a powerful affect upon that nation.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God talks about ‘healing the land’, connecting it to the prayers of God’s people in the land. We are to follow the instructions in this verse. Humble ourselves, pray and seek God, turn from the ways that are not of God. God promises to hear from heaven and heal the land.

Many nations need a touch from God. There are so many nations in crisis and turmoil in the earth today and in truth God is the only answer. Only the Lord God can move and change those nations, but He works with and through His people. God is looking for His people to lift up their nations in prayer.









As I said, the condition of a nation is directly connected to it’s standing toward God! This verse in Hosea shows that. The more a nation departs from the knowledge of God, the worse things will become!

Nations these days are in crisis because there is so little knowledge of God in many of them. Nations that used to be godly nations have begun to turn to ungodly ways, and it is affecting them.

It is up to the church to stand up and take it’s God given role. We are the salt and the light of the earth. The church is the salt and the light of their nation. If we do not take our place and stand in the gap, then who will?

Too often the church has left a vacuum in the spiritual climate of a nation.  Often the spread of evil in the world is possible because of the vacuum the church has left - where we should have filled it with prayer long before but our NEGLECT leaves the door open for the enemy.

Where there is a vacuum something will try to fill it. When the church abdicates it’s responsibility in the spiritual climate of a nation, the devil will take advantage of that and fill that place with his junk.

We need to understand we can do something to bring change in the realm of the spirit. But we have to take up our responsibility.

God’s plan in the church, the nation and the world is hindered because we fail to pray about it. God works with our prayers. Sometimes wars could have been averted - or even won - if God’s people had prayed it out in advance!

Major disasters can be held back if we prayed - sometimes by praying in tongues the Holy Spirit will get us to pray something’s out today that could have happened tomorrow had we not prayed.

In the absence of light there is darkness. When the light of the church is not shining we ought not be surprised that there is darkness. God has called us to be the light. We are to shine forth in the nation bringing the light, bringing the truth of God to our lands.

This starts in the realm of prayer.

Sadly many Christians have not realized this and taken up the responsibility and call of God to pray for our land and for our leaders. We are often far too caught up in our own lives and own situations to take the time to pray for others, for our nations and for the world around us. And as a result of us neglecting our responsibility in prayer, the devil takes advantage of the hole we leave and fills it while we are not looking. Then we wake up and wonder why ungodliness is prevailing in our country around us.

I encourage you to see how important it is that we as a church and we as individual believers pray for others. Take the time to do it. I encourage churches to set aside time for prayer meetings for our nations and leaders and for other people around us.

I am convinced that when we do we will begin to find that our prayers change the world in which we live, they change our government and leaders. Laws and rules and regulations can be changed in the realm of prayer.

But remember that it takes patience and persistence in prayer. Keep at it, don’t just do it for a few weeks or months, then ‘fizzle out’!

I am reminded of Daniel, who was a man of Prayer. God used Daniel to affect more than one leader of an ungodly nation through his life. Daniel’s prayers were powerful in his land because he was willing to take the time to pray.






Churches that pray can find that they begin to see more people reached, and unsaved coming to God. Connected to this is a powerful realm of praying for revival. We are to lift up our land, lift up our churches and pray for God to move. Pray for God to move in the church, to bring strength and fresh life to the churches; to raise up ministers who know how to flow in the Word and power of the Spirit.

Moses is a great example of someone willing to pray to the Lord on behalf of others.




Here Moses lifted up the nation of Israel which were being unfaithful to God. He pled for God to have mercy and his intercession diverted the judgement which they were about to experience.

Intercession involves standing in the gap in prayer between a person and The Lord, pleading their case before the Lord An intercessor is one who stands before God on the behalf of another, bringing them before the Lord in prayer.

I thank God that Jesus has stood before God and taken the judgement. .Jesus is THE intercessor. He stood in the gap between man and God as a mediator. We can intercede for people because Jesus has already interceded for them. Now in intercession we are working with what Jesus has accomplished for people.

But this example of Moses can teach us some amazing principles too that we can follow after. Moses was willing to lift up this people who deserved punishment and pray for God’s mercy.

Moses cried out to God for the people, putting God in remembrance of His Word and covenant.

As Christians, we have more responsibility than many realise

We hold a God given power to effect change in the world, and to influence things on national, international and political levels. Holding placards and protesting about the government etc isn’t really the best way for Christians to influence things. We hold authority in the realm of prayer. Authority that can influence things far more effectively from a spiritual level rather than trying to battle it out naturally.




God has reserved a special influence over rulers for Himself  because it affects His plan globally. The key to activating this influence is found in the realm of prayer. When believers take their place, God is enabled to move in a nation

I encourage you today to stir up your prayer life in the area of praying for others. Pray for your nation, your leaders and government. Pray for your church leaders and the spread of the Gospel in your nation.

If you are a Pastor, take this article and teach it in your church! Show your people the place they have in prayer and then begin to lead by example by taking some time in your church services to pray for the nation and government.

This article, along with others by the same author can be found at www.exceedingfaith.org/articles.html

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Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures used are quoted from the New King James Version of the Bible.

© 2008 Owen Walton & Exceeding Faith Ministries International. This article is written by Owen Walton and is made available for free distribution under the following terms:

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