Dateline: The Kingdom of God
The 4th chapter of the Book of Daniel presents an interesting lesson for people of God. In this chapter we find an obedient servant of God Almighty (Daniel) under the governance of a wicked king (Nebuchadnezzar). The king has a dream and requests Daniel's help in interpreting it (something Daniel had done in the past). Daniel becomes very troubled by the dream because he sees that the king is going to be punished for his wickedness. The result is a heartfelt plea for the king to repent.
Bottom line- though the king was an enemy to Daniel, Daniel still had compassion and concern for the king's soul.
Throughout our most recent election cycle, I have heard many a Christian leader cite 1 Timothy 2:1-3 ("Pray for your leaders…") as a charge and command for Christians to pray for politicians- because we are supposed to. While there is truth to this (it is the Bible after all) I would like to suggest we take the whole counsel of God in every matter, including prayer. Therefore, in light of Daniel 4, the command to pray for our leaders must be executed with the proper heart (Daniel had the proper heart). We must have concern and compassion for the souls of our leaders (no matter which side of the political spectrum they promote) in order to truly and effectively pray for them.
The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write 1 Timothy 2:1-3 AND 1 Corinthians 13. So, what good is prayer without love? Before we pray for anyone, we ought to ask ourselves, "Do I even care about this person… Do I have compassion and concern for their soul…Do I love this person the same way Jesus loves them?"
I encourage each and every one of us to ask God Almighty to fill our hearts with love, compassion, and concern for the souls of our leaders. Then and only then can we commune with God in our prayers for politicians. Then and only then can we expect our prayers to Glorify God. We must see our leaders the way God sees them and seek His will (not our own) for their lives.
