May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; 

May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;

May He send you help from the sanctuary,

And strengthen you out of Zion;

May He remember all your offerings, 

And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah

Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;

He will answer him from His holy heaven

With the saving strength of His right hand.

Psalm 20:1-3, 6

I sometimes wonder if preachers and pastors always like the sermons they preach. Most of the sermons I’ve seen preached have been passionate and the preacher might even seem excited to be delivering his message, but I wonder if sometimes preachers come across messages their human nature would rather just not talk about. Because sometimes saying what God wants you to say isn’t easy. 

Y’all, when I read Psalm 20, I heard God loud and clear, but I really did not want to write out this message. It just makes me a bit uncomfortable, and I genuinely tried to justify putting it off until later this year. But God reminded me how many times I’ve lost things because I put them down and said I’ll take care of them later, so here we are.

Here’s the thing about Psalm 20. It’s a prayer written by David for the king, who would be going into battle soon. So let’s think this through. He wasn’t referring to himself because he consistently refers to the king as “you.” It’s possible that he could have been referring to Solomon because he was crowned king before David died, but that’s unlikely because there were no major wars during his reign. That leaves King Saul. 

This was the king that threw spears at David and hunted him so relentlessly that he had to become a refugee and act like he’d gone insane so the enemies of Israel wouldn’t kill him, but David still publicly prayed for his welfare, salvation, and victory. 

That’s pretty humbling. As long as Saul was alive, David honored him both privately and publicly, but there’s more going on here. My brother, arguably one of the awesome-est ones in the world, got me the Cultural Backgrounds Bible for Christmas this year. I love it. I’ve used it for every post since I unwrapped it, but it kind of sucker-punched me yesterday when I was studying.

Right underneath the psalm, it had a note that started with the statement, “Prayers for the king… were customary in the ancient world, especially in the face of impending battle.” Oh, it hit me so hard, guys. I know our political system is so fractured and contentious, but what would our country look like if we didn’t just pray for our leaders from time to time when our local church does something specific, but made it customary. 

So whether we agree with the current leaders or not, if we hear they would be meeting with dignitaries of a country that might not be our biggest fans? We pray. If a situation arises in a hostile country and they need to determine how to respond? We fire up the prayer chain. If a crisis arises? We call a special prayer meeting at the church. That kind of custom would make a difference.

This election cycle is already underway. Our leaders are going to battle in a sense, and it is a battle that determines who will lead for the next few years. Regardless of where we stand regarding our current leaders’ approval ratings, here are some ways that, taking a cue from David, we can pray for both our current leaders and the leaders who will steer the country for the next few years should they be different

Welfare—In verse 2, David prayed that God would send the king help and strength. For us, this might look like praying that the men and women who are leading and will lead this country are in good health and will receive help in the form of wisdom from God as they make decisions.

Salvation—In verse 9, David prays that God will save the king. For us, this could look like praying for the physical safety of our leaders, but it can also look like praying for the spiritual salvation of our leaders. 

Victory—In verse 1, David prays for God to defend or protect the king. (Spoiler alert: if God goes to battle to defend you, victory is a pretty safe bet.) It is pretty tempting here to see an opportunity to pray for our favorite candidate to be victorious in the presidential race, but I think we can do better here. Because it’s not the candidate we want to win that matters, but the one God knows will be the best for the country and for His sovereign plan. 

I hope you’ll join me this week and this year in praying for the men and women who play a part in leading our country. God has been moving in our country, and I pray that whoever takes over the helm next year, they will be a conduit for God to continue moving and working in the land of the free and the home of the brave.