Pray for our leaders

Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. –Ezra 4:24 (NIV)

The book of Ezra starts the story of the Jewish return from exile. Babylon had conquered Israel seventy years prior. Persia then displaced Babylon as the dominant world power of the day, and the Persian king, Cyrus, gave the Jews the option of returning to their homeland. Many did, and soon began rebuilding the temple.

In the midst of this mostly happy story, we find a sub-plot that provides a handbook on how the enemies of God work. I bring this up because the approach has been effective for centuries. It is noteworthy that there have always been enemies of God. That doesn’t mean we should be cynical or suspicious of every person we meet, just wise to the fact that spiritual warfare is very real.

These enemies were not to be reasoned with. The problem was not a simple misunderstanding that could be resolved with rational discussion and better shared information. They would not be persuaded to “live and let live”. They had an agenda that is still in play today: The enemies of God actively oppose the people of God.

These enemies first posed as friends, offering help based on the lie of a false common interest. If they could worm their way into the lives and mission of the returning exiles, they could distract from and undermine the work. (Ezra 4:1-3)

The exiles saw through the partnership ploy, so the enemies turned to a campaign of ridicule, intimidation, and harassment to slow down the work. The goal was to discourage and frustrate the Jews to the point that the job was too onerous to complete. (Ezra 4:4-5)

When that proved ineffective, they cozied up to the new king and ginned up imaginary threats. This bald-faced appeal to the ego and insecurity of the king worked. He became suspicious and distrustful of the Jews. (Ezra 4:6-22)

Armed with cover from the now-sympathetic authorities, the enemies quickly moved to abuse their power as “agents of the king” in a gross example of enforcement overreach. (Ezra 4:23-24)

This enemy approach follows the precedent set by the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Based on lies, it ultimately appeals to the vanity and the paranoia of humans, and can be especially harmful when those in leadership fall prey to it.

This is why I regularly pray for our leaders – that they would know God, know the love of God, and seek to live lives that honor God. That prayer can be challenging, especially when applied to a leader with whom I disagree on policies, philosophy, or morals. Sometimes, the best I can muster is, “Dear Lord, don’t let this knucklehead mess anything up today.” In that case, I'm trusting the Holy Spirit to translate my prayer into something more appropriate!

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever he will. –Proverbs 21:1 (ESV)