Editor’s Note: The follow is a prayer presented by Kenda Bartlett, Concerned Women for America’s Executive Director, in the United States Capitol building for the Washington: A Man of Prayer event on May 8, 2013. To watch CBN’s coverage of this special Congressional event, click here.
Our Heavenly Father,
With humble heart we thank you for our country, for our Constitution based on the blueprints provided to us in your Scriptures, for our strong military, and for our political representatives.
Too often, Lord, we elect our leaders and then we neglect them. But You call on us to pray for our national leaders. For Paul, inspired by You, in I Timothy 2:1-4, tells us, “I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.”
Our national leaders need prayer. Because no matter what side of the political aisle they might align themselves, our representatives alone are incapable of settling conflict on a world stage, preventing the deterioration of the family, saving the lives of the innocent unborn, turning around a downturned economy, providing jobs for the unemployed, being a comforter to the grieving who have lost loved ones in recent national atrocities and tragedies. Lord, only with Your help can those in authority accomplish these things. May they never forget that.
So we take time to pray specifically for President Barack Obama. Please give President Obama the wisdom he needs to confront the complex daily challenges within domestic and foreign political affairs. Please grant him endurance to manage the daily pressures within his executive duties. But above all, we pray that President Obama may know You in an intimate way. And in every responsibility, we pray that he will make decisions that are pleasing in the eyes of You, and not the eyes of men.
We pray for the first family. We pray that the physical demands of long hours and extensive travel do not put a strain on his family, but instead strengthen the Obamas’ love, commitment, and support of one another. Bless each member of his household. For the president’s wife, first lady Michelle Obama, we pray that You would build a wall of protection around their marriage. May their strong marriage help them to recognize the sacredness of marriage as You defined it. We ask that You bless the president and first lady’s family. Please give them wisdom and guidance as they raise their two young daughters, Malia and Sasha, and protect the Obama family from hostile threats.
We pray also that you would surround President Obama with Godly counsel. So also for each of President Obama’s cabinet. Lord, for each one of these cabinet members, we ask that you strengthen them through Your Word and grant them the wisdom to cast down every law, policy, and personal example which weakens marriage, families, the sanctity of human life, and Your moral code.
As our nine Supreme Court Justices make decisions on laws that impact the entire nation, we pray that You give them wisdom and courage to uphold our Constitution, which establishes a republic based on Your absolute laws and not a nation based on the changing opinions of man’s own reasoning. For Isaiah reminds us that, “The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.” May they realize that all authority comes from You and understand that one day they will stand before You to give an account of the authority You have given to them.
For our local and state leaders, God, we ask that you grant them wisdom, discernment, and hearts that are open to Your leading.
We lift up leaders in the United States House of Representatives, in the Senate, and in the military. We know you have chosen these leaders for such a time as this. We pray that our government houses profess your authority and acknowledge Your will, so that every citizen, every leader, and every country knows that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Not only do we pray for our national leaders in authority, but we pray for those Christ followers who work on staff in the Obama Administration. Please embolden every Christian working in the White House, clerking in the Supreme Court, or providing staff support to every government agency and member of Congress. Please provide them opportunities on a daily basis to act as a witness for Your Truths. Lift the veils on every non-believer around them, so that they might recognize their need for Your goodness, mercy, and saving grace. Please do not let the devil get a foothold in these men and women’s lives. Prune every believer of everything that does not align with Your absolute truths. As they represent You, may they be blessed with favor from their superiors, dignity, courage, and strength.
Father, may You continue to be glorified in the our Capitol, 50 states, and world throughout the ages. In the name and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.