Pray For Your Leaders

“And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.” (1Ch 21:1 AV)

 

When the Devil hates a group of people, his target usually becomes their leader.  If he can topple the leader, the sheep will scatter.  Yet, time and again, this proves to be wrong.  Moses struck the rock several times rather than speaking to it.  God judged him for it, yet the people still followed.  Solomon went after strange wives and God split the kingdom in two.  Yet the people still followed.  Jacob passed away and the brothers thought that was the end of them.  Yet Joseph forgave them and they thrived in Egypt.  Most of all, Satan crucified Christ and the disciples scattered.  But only for a bit.  Soon thereafter, they enjoyed a fish fry on the beach with Jesus.  The point is, when the Devil hates a group of people, he attacks their leader.  It may have short-term consequences, but in the long run, it only makes God’s people stronger. Not weaker.

We know of several large works whose leader fell away.  Yet today, they are thriving.  To remain discrete, I will not mention them by name, but I know of several very large works whose leaders did some very bad things.  God judged the man and the work for these things.  Yet, God loves His people and reclamation, redemption, and reconciliation in the heart of His work towards the children of men.  These works not only overcame the foolish decisions of their leaders but thrived as a result.  They went from a semi-large work to a larger one.  This is not to excuse the actions of these men.  No doubt, they caused harm to the work of God and individual sheep as well.  They will have to account for this before God.  But the sheep are not hopelessly victimized by the poor example of their leaders.  As long as they continue with a heart for God, the LORD will send someone whom they can trust and they will be the better for it despite what happened.

However, there is another word of caution here.  David was at the end of his life.  His battles were won.  Because of pride, he wanted to know how much God had blessed him.  David was ripe for temptation from the Devil.  The people did not need to rest from their battles.  They needed to shift the field.  The temporal battles may have been won, but the spiritual ones continue.  We need to pray for our leaders because the Devil, even though he knows it is a losing strategy, will still target the leaders.  The people will survive.  There will be no lasting damage.  But there is short-term harm that can result.  So, pray for your leader.  Know that he is a target beyond what you can comprehend.  There are troubles, trials, and temptations that face him that the laymen can only begin to understand.  Prayer for your husbands, pastors, and civil leaders.  They have a bull’s eye on their backs and are constantly harassed by the enemy.  Pray for them.  Fast for them.  They need it more than you will ever know.

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