The God of Israel has spoken. The rock of Israel has said to me, “When one rules justly over men ,ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.”
– 2 Samuel 23:3–4
What a picture this chapter starts by saying, “These are the last words of David.” This king who ruled among God’s people. And in verse three, David says, how God has spoken and declared that when a ruler, a leader is just and leads and rules and leads in the fear of God, then God dawns on them, like the morning light. The imagery here, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning. Just picture it, like the bright shining sun in the sky, like rain that causes grass to sprout, grow from the earth. It’s good to be led by people who are just, and who fear God.
So let’s pray based on 2 Samuel 23:3–4, for leaders like this in our lives and for all of us, who are in any position of leadership at all; in our homes, in our churches, in our workplaces, in our communities, that God would help us to lead in a way that bears fruit like this. That brings a blessing like this.
2 Samuel 23:3–4 Leads Us to Pray for Leaders
Oh God, we pray for leaders like this in our lives. God, as we look to authorities in our lives, we pray for just authorities. We pray for people to lead in the fear of you, God, as you have commanded us to pray for leaders in all kinds of high positions/ we pray for presidents, some countries, prime ministers, or even kings or queens. God, we pray for legislators and judges. We pray that they would rule and lead justly. That they would have fear of you and they would lead out of the overflow of fearing you, revering you with knowledge of accountability before you for the good of those they lead.
God, we pray for all of us, including myself, who were in positions of leadership. As we think about leading marriages, leading homes, leading in your church in different capacities, leading in different ways and workplaces, God, we pray that you would help all of us who lead to lead well, justly, and in the fear of you. Help us to lead with all before you, reverence of you, with a sober sense of our accountability before you. To lead people in a way that reflects you.
2 Samuel 23:3–4 Leads Us to Praise God
God, we pray for this kind of blessing to flow from our leadership and this kind of blessing to flow in our lives under the leadership of others, like grass sprouting from the earth and the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning.
God, as we pray for these things, we are so thankful. We praise you. You are the perfect leader. Also, You are just in all your ways. We are so glad that you are our ultimate authority and we worship you as our leader and we pray that your name would be hallowed, as the Lord and leader of all, in all the earth. That your glory would spread. That your kingdom would come. And your will would be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
This Verse Leads Us to Pray for the Unreached
Among all the nations. Among the Jeng people of Laos, may they know you Jesus, as the Lord and leader of all. As the good, just, merciful leader, you are. Cause your name, Jesus, to be known among the Jeng people of Laos.
Oh Lord, we praise you as the just ruler of all the nations. And we gladly submit our lives to your rule and your leadership today. And we know that your leadership is like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning. Your leadership is like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. In Jesus’ name, we pray. 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.
