PLUS

Psalm 35:27-28 “Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.  And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.”

In addition to Duché’s prayer on September 7^th, 1774, the First Continental Congress spent time on that day reading the 35^th Psalm.  John Adams wrote the following to his wife about the impact of prayer and Bible reading as the First Continental Congress began its important role in colonial governance:  “I never saw a greater Effect upon an Audience.  It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that Morning.”  Regarding the time of prayer and Bible reading, he went on to write: “it has had an excellent Effect upon every Body here.”

The impact of prayer on those responsible for governing can be magnificent.  While we may be a long way from true prayer and Bible reading in our present-day national assembly, it need not be the case among Christian citizens that we fail to do so on their behalf.  Those who govern need a God-given “excellent Effect” upon their important role.  It is the only way that their actions representing us will “let the LORD be magnified.”  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIAN CITIZENS WOULD PROVIDE INTERCESSORY PRAYER FOR OUR LEADERS UNTIL THEY RECOGNIZE THEIR NEED TO PRAY THEMSELVES.  We need excellence in our government, and must pray that God will give it to us.

Psalm 35:1-2 “Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.  Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.”

As the First Continental Congress began its two-month meeting on September 5^th, 1774, the members immediately recognized that they needed prayer to accomplish their important task.  As the day opened on the morning of September 7^th, Jacob Duché prayed the following:

“O Lord our Heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings, and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the Kingdoms, Empires and Governments; look down in mercy, we beseech Thee, on these our American States, who have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on Thee. To Thee have they appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they now look up for that countenance and support, which Thou alone canst give. Take them, therefore, Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in Council and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their Cause and if they persist in their sanguinary purposes, of own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle!

Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly; enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation. That the scene of blood may be speedily closed; that order, harmony and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst the people. Preserve the health of their bodies and vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest expedient for them in this world and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son and our Savior.”

The leaders of our first governing body humbly recognized the need for prayer as they went about their deliberations.  They prayed for personal and national protection.  They prayed for direction and wisdom.  They prayed for their own physical and mental well-being.  They prayed for their weighty responsibility representing millions of colonial citizens.  They prayed to be dependent only on Him.

They recognized the need to pray for leadership … theirs.  PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR NATION’S LEADERS TO GOVERN WITH GODLY DIRECTION AND WISDOM.  Our leaders represent millions of citizens, and like our forefathers they need God to “direct the councils of [their] honorable assembly.”  While they may not know it, they are wholly dependent on Him.

James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

It seems like a cliché, in a series that gives rationale for doing something as good as praying for our leaders, to remind us all of God’s perspective if we fail to do so.  Yet, it is important to remember that the only alternative to obedience is disobedience.

God’s command to pray for all in authority is good.  The results of doing so that include living quiet and peaceable lives is good.  The contingent promises of II Chronicles 7:14 are good.  Seeing all men saved is good.  Having leaders come to the knowledge of the truth is good.

We know the good, and the choice is ours whether to obey or to disobey.

Excuses abound for not praying for our nation and its leaders.  They are as simple as a dislike of population groups as Jonah had for the Ninevites.  They are as insidious as a lack of trust that this nation will ever return to the Lord, at best a lack of faith in God’s people to follow the precursors of the contingent promises in II Chronicles 7:14 and at worst a lack of faith in God Himself.  They are as plain as a disrespect for a particular leader.  They are as insidious as a belief that God has no plan for widespread revival in America, at best a worthless personal theory and at worst a presumptuous prophesy.  They are as straightforward as basic pessimism.  They are as insidious as a deeply rooted negativity, at best an infectious force to those around us and at worst a self-fulfilling deterrence to prayer.  Regardless of the excuse, God sees it as sin.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD TAKE SERIOUSLY GOD’S COMMANDS TO PRAY FOR OUR NATION AND ITS LEADERS.  We must not fool ourselves into thinking that the alternative is anything other than sin.

I Timothy 2:1-4 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

Thus far during my PLUS posts, I haven’t specifically written about the need for American Christians to pray for our leaders.  I haven’t neglected the subject for any particular reason, and from the outset of the PLUS ministry have included those in authority as a regular part of my prayers for our nation.  Yet, in the midst of my transfer to a military position in Washington DC I am increasingly mindful of the need to do so.

The next several posts will include several reasons, with interspersed historical examples, why we must pray for our leaders.  In reality, one does not need to go beyond I Timothy 2.  In these few verses, the Lord highlights the need to pray for leaders as an important part of our responsibility to pray for all men.  Doing so is “good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.”  While the posts in the weeks to follow will amplify the importance of doing so, this reason should be good enough for all of us.

PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL IN AUTHORITY, STARTING WITH THOSE HOLDING THE HIGHEST POSITIONS IN THIS LAND.  God would have “all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”  God’s truth in the hearts of leaders throughout our nation is exactly what this land needs to correct from its errant course.

II Timothy 4:7 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

Strategy is often defined as creating coherence between ends, ways, and means.  The eccentric strategist Dr. Everett Dolman defines it in a more creative way — “a plan for continuing advantage.”  As he explains the nuance involved in such a definition he points out that the ends in one phase of a strategy are simply the initial conditions of the next phase of a strategy.  Such a perspective is a reminder that strategy is a long continuum, and excessive focus on intermediate ends may hinder advantage in the long term; it is the long term that really matters.

As I hand over command of my current organization tomorrow morning, I am mindful that Dr. Dolman’s unique definition of strategy has important applicability to selfless Christian leadership.  The organizational environment at end of my tenure as commander is simply the initial condition of the next commander’s tenure.  As a leader, I would be a failure if an excessive focus on short-term accomplishments hindered the long-term success of that organization beyond my tenure.  A truly successful leader will have established conditions within an organization that fosters a continuing advantage after that individual moves on, truly only possible if the equipping, encouraging, correcting, compelling and challenging of people within the organization is the leader’s prevailing focus.  Such a leadership style will cause an organization to succeed in the short term, but more importantly will cause it to thrive in the long term as it continues on its course.

This definition of strategy can also help inform Christians as we live our lives and contribute to our ministries.  Our perspective should be on the eternal, and our contributions are to span the entirety of our remaining lives.  An excessive focus on anything short of finishing our individual course while keeping the faith may actually hinder us in fulfilling God’s plan.  We are to invest our lives in such a way that we provide the gospel a continuing advantage in this land.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD KEEP OUR GAZE ON THE LONG TERM PERSPECTIVE OF OUR LIVES.  Even as we pass on from this life, our testimonies form the initial conditions for the next generation of Christians.  May we give them the proper springboard to foster a continuing advantage for Christ.