Yesterday I opened the USA Today to find a full page ad with the names of a wide range of religious leaders calling for a day of prayer for our President. Sunday, June 2, has been unofficially declared a day of prayer for the President of the United States. I am very happy that many will be praying tomorrow. Believers should in fact be praying every day for their political leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-3). Regardless of who the man is or what your political position – praying Christians should be making intercession for the President. We can take the White House to the Throne of Grace!

The question is: How do you pray for a president? Here are a few specific things you can add to your prayer list…

1. Pray for his spiritual life. A president is just a man. He is a sinner and a man with hurts like all of us. Ask the Lord to work in him “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). There is a King over all presidents, prime ministers, and political leaders. We should pray that the president comes to know Him in a deep and personal way. Spiritual realities should always be the first of our prayer requests.
2. Pray for his family. There is a loneliness to leadership and yet every leader must always be concerned about his own home. Wives and children carry a load that few can understand. Pray for their protection and peace.
3. Pray for wisdom. Presidents make decisions that affect nations and generations. We should pray James 1:5 for our President and ask God to send wise counsellors into his path. Definitely pray that he will discern what is right and honorable in all areas.
4. Pray for strength. The weight of responsibility on a president and the hard adversity against him is enough to break any man. God alone gives true strength. Pray for the physical, emotional, mental, and moral strength that is needed in the life of our President.
5. Pray for divine intervention. No man can single handedly guide any nation. Pray that God will rule the good and overrule the evil in the lives of our leaders. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will” (Proverbs 21:1).

Last week my family had the opportunity to walk through some presidential history. While in Dallas, TX we toured the JFK Museum at Dealey Plaza, and then spent an afternoon at the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Two very different presidents in very different times with very different stories. Yet I was deeply impressed with one truth: Presidents are real people – people who desperately need God. This is not a political statement or a merely patriotic cause. This is a spiritual need that has implications for our entire country. Would you join me in praying for our President?