Praying About Bad Leaders and Government Officials
Praying about bad leaders and government officials is crucial because we need God’s help and grace to live well despite being under poor leadership.
The Bible tells about many bad kings and leaders and offers advice and hope on how to cope and thrive.
This prayer can be used to pray about bad leaders in your own country, or for those in other countries around the world.
Praying About Bad Leaders and Government Officials
Dear God, Ruler of the Universe,
We thank you that you desire for us to be led by people who are just, fair and honest. You want our leaders to work for the good of all and to honor you.
We lament that often our leaders don’t live up to your standards. They fail to govern fairly and expect to be served rather than to serve the people.
Here is a specific leader I am praying about today__________________________________
Here are the ways I see this leader falling short of good leadership___________________________
Here are the hardships and problems I see happening to us as a result of their poor leadership____________
God, we need your guidance, and your wisdom. Show us how to pray, how to live well and how to help others under the influence and control of this bad leader.
We begin by using the instructions from the Bible on how to pray about bad leaders.
We pray for all kings and authorities, good and bad, because they are in authority over us and our wellbeing depends on theirs.
We pray that our leader will provide stability and will allow us to live peaceful lives. We also pray that they will be saved and that they might come to the knowledge of God’s truth.
We claim 1 Timothy 2:1-4 that says, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
We affirm that God is on the one who gives all authority
We believe that positions of authority were established by God for our good, even though some leaders may be bad. Help us to respect the position even when the person in it is not acting in ways God wants. May we continue to obey the laws and conduct ourselves as good citizens as it tells us in Romans 13:1-3:
“For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.”
We believe that God can remove bad leaders.
We thank you that the Bible shows that kings and leaders rose and fell and that no bad leader ruled forever. We thank you that as easily as you have put someone in power, you can remove them as well.
“He (God) changes times and season; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.” (Daniel 2:21 NIV)
We have faith that God has the power to change the minds of bad leaders.
God, we know that you can change people’s thoughts and attitudes because of the way you have changed ours for the better. We pray that you will change this leader’s mind as it says in Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” (ESV)
God gives us the power to persevere in prayer for justice.
May we never give up praying for justice. Jesus tells us that even a bad leader can do the right thing if we keep on seeking justice. In the parable of the persistent widow Jesus describes a powerless widow who kept coming to an unjust judge who “neither feared God nor cared about men.” The woman never gave up and finally the judge said, “Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming.” (Luke 18:1-5)
Jesus goes on to tell us that when we pray, God hears us and will act to make sure justice finally comes. (Luke 18:6-8)
We pray for protection against the evil ways of bad leaders
As we persist in prayer, we pray that you will protect us from the evil caused by bad leaders. We pray against:
All lies and untruthfulness.
Partiality and favoritism
Prejudice and persecution
Schemes, conspiracies, manipulation
Misuse of armed forces and police
Use of power for personal gain, greed
Disregard for justice and the needs of the people
Abuse of power
Surrounding themselves with bad advisors
Not acknowledging their need for God or following his ways
Immorality
Violence, repression and imprisonment
Oppression of the poor and powerless
Wars and armed conflicts
Restrictions on religion
Prayers for God to raise up good leaders
We now pray that God will raise up good leaders for us and for every nation.
We pray for leaders who are:
Humble servants. (see Matthew 23:11,12)
Good examples, not serving for gain, who don’t rule by force. (See 1 Peter 5:2,3)
Willing to make personal sacrifices and do the hard thing (see John 10:11)
People with God’s heart. (see Samuel 13:14)
Wise and surround themselves with wise counselors. (see Proverbs 15:22)
Just. (see Proverbs 29:4,5)
Able to settle disputes. (see 1 Kings 3:16-28)
Hard working. (see Proverbs 14:23-31)
Kind, compassionate and forgiving. (see Ephesians 4:32)
Reverent. (see Hebrews 12:28)
Not anxious and afraid during a crisis because they bring their needs to God in prayer. (see Philippians 4:6)
Of good moral character. (see Proverbs 10:9)
Prayer for wisdom on standing up against bad leaders
The Bible shows us that sometimes individuals or groups are called upon to challenge a bad leader. Here are some things to consider as we ask for wisdom on when and how we should stand up to a bad leader.
Send prophets.
God, we pray that you will send prophets and those willing to tell the truth to bad leaders about their actions. We pray that you will raise up truth tellers like Jeremiah. (See Jeremiah 1:4-10) Make your truth-tellers unafraid. Put your words into their mouths and bring your desired outcome to their messages. Help us to pray for them. Protect them. And help their voices be heard.
Pick new leaders.
We pray that you will anoint, appoint, develop and guide new leaders, like you did with David while Saul was still king. (See 1 Samuel 16:1-13)
Provide good advisors.
Raise up wise advisors from unexpected places and help them win the favor of the bad leader. May they exert their influence to make positive changes like you did in the story of Joseph who began as an imprisoned slave and was elevated to a high position by pharaoh. (See Genesis 41:14-45)
Call for resistance.
Empower and protect individuals and groups whom God calls to civil disobedience by refusing to obey decrees against God’s laws. We pray for the courage and faith of Daniel who disobeyed the King’s degree not to pray to any gods but the king for 30 days. Although Daniel was punished by being thrown in the lion’s den, you saved his life.
God, our leader
We thank you, God, for being our heavenly leader. We praise you for your wisdom, power, justice, salvation, provision, protection and guidance. May we always look to you as we face less-than-perfect leaders here on earth as we continue to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Amen.
Why I wrote this prayer about bad leaders
As I listened to campaign ads, I realized that all candidates have a mixture of good and bad traits. Sometimes it feels like we are forced to choose the lesser of two evils during campaigns where both sides attack the other. It started me wondering what to do if the person in charge turns out to be a bad leader? Unfortunately, having the right to vote doesn’t guarantee good leaders.
Worse still, countries around the world don’t have an ability to choose their leaders. Instead they are ruled by military juntas, dictators and tyrants.
What the Bible Says About Bad Leaders
Old Testament Lessons on leadership
In the Old Testament I discovered many instances where Israel or Judah had a bad king. There were some good ones in the mix but even the good ones had their faults which could become fatal flaws without God’s intervention. Bad kings led to destruction at the hand of their enemies and good kings led to a restoration of faith.
New Testament lessons on leadership
In New Testament times, when Jesus walked this earth, a large part of the civilized world had been conquered by Rome and was under Roman rule and occupation. Jesus’ life was often threatened by bad civil and religious leaders.
Bad Religious leaders and how God used them.
The crucifixion of Jesus was engineered by the religious leaders and carried out the Roman authorities. Among the many reasons the religious elite wanted Jesus crucified was that he was considered a threat to their authority. Jesus spoke with spiritual authority that far surpassed theirs and Jesus confirmed God’s power through signs and miracles. Furthermore, Jesus spoke out against the pride, greed, moral bankruptcy, hypocrisy and bad example of the religious leaders. (see Matthew 23:1-39)
Despite all of their corruption, God still used the religious leaders of the day to advance his plan. The religious leaders taught the Old Testament scriptures, laws and prophesies that were the foundation laid by God to prepare people’s hearts for Jesus the Messiah. They also carried out the sacrificial offering in the Temple that showed the need for the shedding of blood for the cleansing from sin that prefigured Christ’s sacrificial death.
Bad Civil leaders and how God used them.
Jesus was still a baby when he was first threatened by a bad civil leader named Herod. Herod famously had all of the babies in Bethlehem slaughtered in an effort to kill off the newborn king sought by the wise men. (see Matthew 2:16) Jesus and his family escaped by fleeing into exile in Egypt until after Herod’s death.
On the other hand, the Roman Empire brought the Pax Romana, which was a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity due to Roman rule over much of the civilized world. In addition, the Romans allowed the Jews to continue their own religious celebrations and the same King Herod who slaughtered babies actually expanded and rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem for the Jews to continue their ancient rituals.
The early Christian church, though often oppressed and persecuted by religious and civic leaders, was able to spread the faith by taking advantage the roads, transportation systems, and peace keeping forces put in place by the Roman rulers. A case in point is the Apostle Paul who was a Roman citizen and who was at times actually saved from blood-thirsty mobs by Roman troops.
The bottom line is that God is at work in the world. When we are under the authority of bad leaders, God can enable us to live upright and godly lives. He can give us courage to resist when needed. God can give us strength when we need to endure. He can help us to pray. God can direct us to act. He can protect us. And God can change the minds of bad leaders or remove them from power.
Other helpful articles
Prayer for Peace in Countries Undergoing Civil Unrest, Revolution or War
Copyright Karen Barber 2024. All rights reserved.
