“Thus says the Lord God, I will throw my net over you with a host of many peoples and they will haul you up in my dragnet.”
– Ezekiel 32:3
So this is a prophecy through Ezekiel to and about the King of Egypt. And God is making clear to the King of Egypt, I hold you in my hand and I will accomplish my purposes through you and you will be held to account before me. This is obviously a picture we see all throughout the Bible that God holds leaders, world leaders of powerful nations, God holds them in the palm of his hands, that it’s God who ultimately governs the nations. He is King of Kings, but not just in a sense that he is supreme over them. Yes, absolutely that, infinitely that, but he holds them in the palm of his hand. And there’s a lot of mystery that comes with this, right?
Ezekiel 32:3 Shows Us How God’s People Wrestle in the Old Testament
And this is what we see many times, God’s people wrestling with in the Old Testament. Why is this happening? Why is God allowing or even ordaining this leader to do that? And over and over again, we see the clear and resounding message that God is good, He is wise, He is just, He is sovereign, and we can trust him. And as a result, we need to pray for leaders.
God specifically tells us this 1 Timothy 2, “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgiving 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. It’s pleasing in the sight of God, our savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Ezekiel 32:3 Leads Us to Faithfully Obey God’s Commands
So let’s do that right now. just think about wherever you are, as I’m praying this right now, together we are joining with God and what he’s doing in the lives of world leaders. So let’s pray. God, we want to faithfully obey your command to us in 1 Timothy 2, to offer intercession for kings and all who are in high positions. So we pray today for President Biden in the United States for Vladimir Putin in Russia. We pray for Xi Jinping in China.
We pray for Kim Jong-un in North Korea. And we pray for Angela Merkel in Germany. And we pray for leaders and presidents in Saudi Arabia and Iran and France. God, we pray for Prime Minister Modi in India. And God, we could go on. You know all the leaders of the world. We pray for them right now. We pray for these specific ones we’ve mentioned. God, we pray for their good. We pray for their humility. We pray for their salvation. And we know that you desire all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. We pray for that.
Pray for that God Would Lead them Justly and Mercifully
We pray that you would cause them to lead justly and mercifully and wisely and well for the sake of those that they lead. God, we ask for that. We ask for the church’s sake in all these places that they may lead, peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way. We pray for the flourishing of the church in these different places. God, we ask for these things knowing that you’ve commanded us to, that you’ve invited us to join with you and what you are doing among the nations. Help us to see the news this way. God help us not to despair, but to trust in your sovereignty overall things.
Oh, we are so thankful that you are sovereign over all the nations and all the leaders of the nations that you are in control. In your goodness, in your wisdom, in your love. We praise you that you are in control, and we look forward to the day when all creation will be gathered under your just rule and reign, for all of eternity.
Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. And until that day, we pray that you’d help us to be faithful, to pray for when we hear the news, when we see headlines to pray for leaders that we read about in the world who are all in the palm of your hands. 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.
