5 WAYS TO PRAY FOR BIDEN
HOW TO PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR NEWLY ELECTED LEADERS
Key Facts
On January 20, 2021 Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States of America.
While Biden did win the popular vote, Donald Trump received significant support with 74,222,958 votes or 46.8% of the votes cast. Many Christians may fall into the later percentage and now are considering how to pray for a president they did not vote for. [1]
Key Scriptures
1 Timothy 2:1-4 "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
Psalms 2:10-1 “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.”
John 18:36 “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”
Luke 22:24-27 “A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”
Application
Joe Biden has recently become the 46th president of the United States. The Bible teaches that God is sovereign and the one who establishes political leadership, including this new administration (Dan. 2:21). No matter who is in charge, Christians are called to pray for our political leaders (1 Tim. 2:1-2). This can be especially difficult for those who did not vote for Biden and were not eager to see him take office. How can Christians be faithful to pray for our leaders, even when we may not agree with them?
This list is by no means exhaustive, but as we begin to pray for our new political leader, these are some areas of his life that Christians should pray for whether we voted for Biden or not.
Pray for his relationship with God. Although Biden is a self-proclaimed Catholic, there is always reason to continue to pray for Biden’s relationship with the Lord. As we have humility to recognize that we do not know the complete nature of the relationship between God and Joe Biden, we can still pray for his soul and for growth in that relationship, wherever it may be. We should pray that Biden becomes sensitive to the Holy Spirit and turns to God for wisdom (James 1:5). No matter our political leaning, praying for our nation's leaders to grow spiritually and depend on God is of great importance.
Pray for humility. The position of President holds a great deal of power and influence. In humanity’s sinful nature, people vie for power (Matt. 20:20-28). The disciples even succumbed to this temptation and sought to be the greatest in the kingdom. Jesus used their desire for power as an opportunity to teach them a lesson about the upside down nature of the kingdom of heaven. He taught that in order to be great they should become like slaves. A person with a heart of service toward God and others is who will best handle power and be a good leader (Matt. 20:28).
As a leader humbles himself, the needs of others become more central. To be focused on the needs of others is a crucial feature of a great leader. Leadership positions can make it easy to focus on what is best for oneself and become self-serving. Christians should pray that President Biden will avoid this pitfall by viewing his presidency as a service to the citizens and regarding others as better than himself (Matt. 20:26, Phil. 2:3).
Pray for him to listen to wise advisors. With this immediate surge in power, it can be difficult to value others’ advice. Proverbs 11:14 states, “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers.” It can be unpleasant for anyone, including Christians, to listen to advice or counsel that goes against their instincts. However, recognizing that others may have a fuller picture of the situation or more experience to contribute to the formulation of a response is crucial to making wise decisions. Christians should pray that this new and significant power does not result in pride and become a detriment to his ability to lead.
As we pray for Biden to listen to advisors, we can also pray that God brings wise people into his network. Advice can be incredibly helpful, but Job reminds us that not all counsel is good. Job finds himself losing nearly everything he once had, including his own health (Job 1-2). His friends tell him that sin must be the cause of this affliction (Job 4-5). This advice for Job to seek out his own sin as the cause of his situation was bad advice and a poor assessment of the situation. From this story we can learn that not everyone in our lives gives advice that is worthy of applying. We should pray that President Biden not only listens to advice, but that the advice is wise and in accordance with the Word of God.
Pray for Integrity. Most of us do not spend time with Joe Biden regularly and cannot keep him accountable to do the right things with the right motivations. We can only see what is shown to us. For this reason it is exceedingly important that the President has integrity to do the right thing even when no one is watching. As the temptations for immorality grow in Biden’s personal and professional life, Christians should pray that he walks in integrity and truth. Proverbs 11:13 states, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.” We know that the crookedness will result in one’s downfall. As the leader of our nation, we should be praying that Biden walks in integrity so as not to result in his personal downfall and become a detriment to the nation he represents.
Pray for God to use Biden to accomplish His plans, even unknowingly. Ultimately, we believe in free will and know that Biden has made plans that go in direct opposition to biblical truth (such as with abortion). While we do pray for Biden to be receptive to the Lord’s truth and make good decisions as President, we should simultaneously recognize that God will use this presidency regardless. Even if President Biden chooses to go against God, this does not undermine God’s sovereignty or undermine His plans. Proverbs 21:1 teaches us that a “king's heart is in the hand of the LORD” and God can turn it whichever way He wishes. This should give us confidence that even if it looks as though Biden is going against God, God is ultimately using it for our good (Rom. 8:28). Our prayer in this, as always, should be for the will of God to be accomplished (1 John 5:14).
Conclusion
Christians may have voted for different candidates, but when leadership gets established, it is universally important that we lift them up in prayer. These prayers may differ depending on the situation and the leader. In the wake of the Biden inauguration, Christians can pray for his relationship with God, his heart as a leader, and for God to use President Biden for His purposes. The people of God should always remember to value eternal things more than temporary things (Col. 3:1-2). Justice, goodness, and moral uprightness of this world do matter, but our ultimate goals should be eternally focused (Mic. 6:8, Matt. 6:33). The United States, its laws, and its political system are temporary, but the soul of a man is eternal. While it may be easier to pray for a leader with whom we agree, Christians should just as fervently pray for those in leadership positions with whom we disagree.