I Kings 3:9 “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”
Leaders face challenges that we can only imagine. These challenges are made all the more daunting when they trust in their own wisdom to solve them. Solomon recognized his insufficiency, and his willingness to turn to the Lord for wisdom and discernment “pleased the Lord.” Through his humility, God allowed Solomon to “judge this thy so great a people.” Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall recognized this same important truth and prayed:
“We need Thy strength, Thy guidance, Thy wisdom. There are problems far greater than any wisdom of man can solve. What shall our leaders do in such an hour? May Thy wisdom and Thy power come upon the President of these United States, the Senators and Congressmen, to whom have been entrusted leadership. May the responsibility lie heavily on their hearts, until they are ready to acknowledge their helplessness and turn to Thee. Give to them the honesty, the courage, and the moral integrity to confess that they don’t know what to do. Only then can they lead us as a nation beyond human wisdom to Thee, who alone hast the answer.”
Until our leaders recognize their need for full reliance on the Lord, we must pray in their stead as Marshall recommends. Our problems are far greater than they can solve. Our problems are far greater than we can solve. Until our nation – its leaders and its citizens – comes to the point where we recognize our helplessness, we will flail about in our own insufficient wisdom. Yet, once we humbly rely upon the Lord, we can be led “as a nation beyond human wisdom.”
PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR HELPLESSNESS AND TURN FULLY TO THE LORD. God alone has the answer for the problems of today and tomorrow, and our leaders only need to humbly ask to receive it.
