“First of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and Thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth for there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
– 1 Timothy 2:1–7
For this Pray The Word podcast episode, I want to do something a little different in light of a transition of power in my country as we inaugurate a new President. And I just want to read First Timothy chapter two verses one through seven from God in his word where he tells us what we must do for our leaders. And then I want to lead us to pray specifically for President Biden and Vice President Harris in the United States.
Praying for the New President and Vice President
On this day, we pray for the new President and Vice President.
“For this, I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I’m telling the truth. I am not lying. A teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” So let’s pray. Oh God, we praise you for the myriad displays of your mercy toward our country over this last four years under the leadership of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
We thank you for hearing our prayers for them and our country during these years and for graciously providing for them and our country in countless ways that we could never see or comprehend. We pray today for your grace upon them and their families in the days ahead. And now, just as you commanded us to pray for our previous leaders in your word, we pray according to your word for our new President, Joe Biden, and new Vice President, Kamala Harris. And we commit to pray continually for them over the coming years.
1 Timothy 2:1–7 Thanks God for His Grace for Leaders
We praise you, oh God, for your abundant grace in the lives of our new leaders. God, we thank you for your grace amidst unimaginable suffering in President Biden’s life, notably in the loss of his wife and two of his children, trials that no loving husband or dad ever wants to experience. We thank you for his current wife of 43 years, Jill, their two children and their seven grandchildren. And we pray for your grace in each of their lives.
Likewise, we praise you for your grace and Kamala Harris, her husband, Doug, and their two children. And we pray for them. We thank you for your grace in the first woman to serve as our Vice President. In addition to being the first Black and Indian American leader in this position, oh God, we pray for your mercy upon our new President and Vice President today and in the days ahead. Help them to fear you above all and to lead with justice for all. Grant them wisdom to promote good and to punish evil.
Praying for Peaceful and Godly Leadership
Help them to govern in such a way that we are all able to lead peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way. God, help them to work with other branches of our government to create laws prudently and execute laws impartially. Help them to do that which is right in your eyes, not in their or anyone else’s eyes. Help them to defend the cause of the poor, the oppressed, and the needy according to your word as a reflection of your character.
Grant them everything they need on a moment by moment, day by day basis to make decisions that are good for the welfare of our nation as well as other nations. As your church, we pray also for our lives under their leadership. Help us to honor President Biden and Vice President Harris in every word we speak, right, or post in every thought we possess. Help us to live and work for their good as servants instituted by you, our God.
1 Timothy 2:1–7 Praises Our Identity in God
So God, help us to gladly submit ourselves to them and the government they lead in any and every way that does not conflict with our higher allegiance to you and what you have spoken clearly and directly in your word. Should we oppose positions they take or decisions they make, help us to do so peacefully and respectfully with integrity and humility, recognizing that we too are fallible and in constant need of your forgiveness.
Help us not only to state true positions with our lips concerning your care for all people made in your image, both inside and outside the womb, but help us also to show true compassion with our lives through zealous good deeds on behalf of all people in need, both in our country and beyond our country. Oh God, we are so thankful that you hold President Biden, Vice President Harris, our country, and our lives in the palm of your hand.
Just as we joyfully confessed yesterday and will joyfully confess tomorrow, we joyfully confess today, Jesus is Lord. Our identity is found not ultimately in our citizenship in this country, but in our service in your kingdom. So help us today and every day during the next four years and beyond to make the love and Lordship of Jesus known in our nation and among all nations, particularly among billions of people who have hardly even heard his name. We pray all of this as your church according to your word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
