Pastor's Perspective — A blog by Pastor Wendell Smith

Honor the King

November 6 (Current Events, Faith, Family, Morality, Sports)

Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 1 Peter 2:17 (NKJV)

November 4th 2008 was an historic day for America and one we will not soon forget. We congratulate President-elect Obama and his historic achievement and rise to power. To have a vibrant young African-American in the White House is an amazing occurrence and speaks well of a measure of progress our culture has made in racial issues.

There may be no other President in modern time that has needed prayer more than this man. This President will be faced with a global financial crisis, ongoing terror threats, wars to resolve, international troubles and domestic confusion. He needs the prayers of God’s people.

I have lived through 12 Presidents in my lifetime. Temporary leaders come and go. And yet life goes on and the Kingdom of God still functions and God still rules in the affairs of men. No matter who wins elections God rules over nations. The Bible tells us that the heart of kings is in the hand of the Lord and the Lord can influence them. We are to honor the King and so we pray! In accordance with Scriptural injunctions, we pray for those in authority, for our President, our congressmen, our Governors and our elected officials. We celebrate their achievements and pledge our support in prayer. They are public servants and need divine assistance.

However, we are concerned with the potential loss of religious freedoms and disintegrations of our moral foundations. And thus we continue our prayers — fervent prayers — resisting and standing against wicked principalities and powers that would like to seduce and manipulate politicians, leaders and people. This is why the church still prays!

Our prayers will be answered, but perhaps not as we thought. God surely answers sincere and fervent prayers and will intervene if we continue to stand in the gap and pray for our nation. We should continue to trust God for His intervention in our generation.

President Obama is certainly a God-fearing man who could be greatly influenced for good if enough people will pray and if the right people surround him with good counsel. Let us agree in prayer that good men and women will indeed fill those positions of power and influence our new President for righteousness.

May God continue to bless America.


Hot Questions and Cool Answers

Should we pray for leaders with whom we disagree? Even more so! The Bible doesn't qualify what kind of kings we should pray for- just that we should pray! (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

How can we help influence leaders toward making good decisions regarding their policies? First we give them prayer support (1 Tim. 2:1). Secondly we pray against the evil influence of wicked spirits in their minds (Eph. 6:12). Third we can actively communicate with our congressional leaders through writing (Matt. 5:13,14). Fourth, take public stands against evil deeds (Dan. 3:17,18). And fifth, vote in the next election.

Should Christians be involved in politics? Absolutely. Believers should conscientiously be involved in both political parties and do their best to be salt and light in a darkened and tasteless society (Matt. 5:13,14). It is imperative however that disciples of Jesus be bathed in the Holy Spirit and well versed in the scriptures, so they have a sound world view from which to speak and act.

Great Resource

"Honor's Reward" by John Bevere
Bestselling author John Bevere unveils the power and truth of an often-overlooked principle-the spiritual law of honor. Bevere explains that understanding the vital role of this virtue will enable readers to attract blessing both now and for eternity. Order from Amazon.com