Praying for Godly Leaders

It is common knowledge that the creators of Superman modeled the famous superhero after Jesus himself. Their inspiration came from the gospels and the gospels fueled their stories. Superman was the role model for generations of kids. In the first Superman movie, released in 1978, the young man Clark Kent discovers he is not from Earth. On his journey of self-discovery, through holographic projection, he meets his father, who teaches him everything about who he is. Speaking of the human race, the last lines in this scene go like this: “They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you…my only son.”

I have said for the past several weeks that there is a severe lack of godly leadership in every aspect of life. In politics, in business, in healthcare, and even in the church we see time and time again the people in power abuse their power for selfish gain. The majority of Israel’s kings did this. They abused the people God placed them as leaders over. In business you sometimes have people in management who have no idea what they are doing. In politics we certainly have many who should not be there. In the church there are people in leadership positions who should not have them. All of this makes us yearn for something better. Who will come and lead us? Who will treat us rightly? Who will come and deliver u:s from all this? None other than God himself.

Psalm 72 has an inscription as its first line, and it says in most English translations that it is a psalm of Solomon. This leads many to believe that Solomon is its author, and that may be the case. However, I don’t think he wrote it. I think it may have been written by his father David to be used at Solomon’s coronation when he would have been crowned king. The preposition in the title may mean of like it is often translated, but it may also be translated as for, toward, or about. Solomon is the subject, but perhaps not its author. The psalm also is written in the third person. The psalm, written about the king, always refers to him as he, never I. If Solomon wrote this, it would follow that it would be written in first person instead of third. Then there is the final verse, which is likely an editorial addition added when the psalms were collected and organized to mark the end of the second book of Psalms (The book of Psalms is a five volume collection of psalms). This last verse suggests that David may be the author, not Solomon.

As I stated before, its purpose was to be spoken at the coronation ceremony and is a prayer over the king and his rule. Similar to the virgin birth prophecy, there is an immediate application to king Solomon, but careful reading reveals there is a Messianic component to it as well. As we explore this psalm, we will see how we might pray for godly leaders in an age where it is uncommon.

Psalm 72:1–7 NASB95

Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king’s son. May he judge Your people with righteousness And Your afflicted with justice. Let the mountains bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness. May he vindicate the afflicted of the people, Save the children of the needy And crush the oppressor. Let them fear You while the sun endures, And as long as the moon, throughout all generations. May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, Like showers that water the earth. In his days may the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

Pray for leaders to lead well.

We see that the psalm begins with a petition to God to give the king his judgments and his righteousness. If a leader is to lead rightly, his wisdom must come from the Word of God. If one is to judge rightly, it has to be in accordance with the Word of God. For if God has spoken through his written word, then what is written must be true, for God cannot lie. Mountains and hills often represent governments, and here in this psalm, it is like saying, “Let the government established by the king bring peace and deliverance through properly executed justice.”

When leaders exercise their responsibilities properly, reverence for the leader and refreshment for the people are the outcome. The writer speaks of fear of the Lord, which is not a go hide under your bed kind of fear, but rather a profound honor and respect kind of fear. He prays for this to happen for all time as indicated by the endurance of the sun and moon.

Refreshment is described here as rain falling on freshly mowed grass. While rain can be an interruption in our plans, it brings new life. We have seen a lot more green this year because of rain. We have seen an unbelievable amount of acorns because of rain. When the rain falls, the ground is fertile and new life grows.

This prayer was that Solomon might lead like this, but we get an indication from this that it also applies to Christ, who will lead on forever, through all generations. As we wait for his return, we must pray that God will raise up leaders who will lead like him. This kind of leadership is rare, which is all the more reason to pray for leaders who will seek God.

Psalm 72:8–11 NASB95

May he also rule from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth. Let the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust. Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. And let all kings bow down before him, All nations serve him.

Pray for the increasing influence of godly leadership.

The prayer here is that Solomon’s territory would increase from sea to sea and from the River, which is likely a reference to the Euphrates, to the ends of the earth. There is certainly a desire to see the land portion of God’s covenant with Abraham to be realized, but the idea that Solomon’s territory should be to the ends of the earth also hints at the Messianic kingdom. Solomon did not rule the whole earth, but when Jesus returns, his kingdom will not be only Israel. It will encompass all of the earth.

It would be unrealistic for us to pray that any human leader have a global rule. But what we can pray for is the maximizing of his influence. We ought to pray that the leader who follows after God would grow in his number of allies and decrease in his number of enemies. While the leaders we pray for might not conquer the world, we would hope that they attract the support of other nations. That is what we see in verse 10 and 11.

When godly leaders execute the duties of their office in a manner that glorifies God, people generally respond with some sort of tribute. In today’s world, it may not be that one conquers kingdoms, but that nations desire participation in what is taking place.

Godly leadership exists, but to lead effectively requires boldness, courage, resilience, humility, and more. We ought to pray that God would give his leaders those things and in the process, grow their influence.

Psalm 72:12–15 NASB95

For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help, The afflicted also, and him who has no helper. He will have compassion on the poor and needy, And the lives of the needy he will save. He will rescue their life from oppression and violence, And their blood will be precious in his sight; So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him; And let them pray for him continually; Let them bless him all day long.

Pray for protection and deliverance.

Great leadership is marked by protection of those who are most vulnerable. A shepherd does not care for just the sheep that he likes or the sheep that make his life easier. He cares for the sheep that are smelly, dirty, and downright dumb as well s the ones that don’t find themselves in a lot of trouble. The world needs better shepherds than it needs those who know how to give orders. The prayer here is that the king would be one who would deliver people in times of trouble, that he would look compassionately on the poor and needy.

We see this culminate in the life of Jesus, who called himself the good shepherd. Let’s look at John 10:11-13 together:

John 10:11–13 NASB95

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.

A good leader is marked by protection of those who are most vulnerable. Sheep are completely helpless if left unattended. A hired hand does not care about the people entrusted to him. A shepherd will take care of the sheep even if they are not his. A great leader puts his people first, not sell them out to a foreign country.

The blessings of the people are the reward of great leaders. The second the leader does it for the reward, he has lost his true motivation. I have zero concern following one who stewards his leadership responsibility well. While Solomon was a good king, he strayed from the Lord. We see this pattern continue as successive kings come to power in Israel’s history. The good news is that there is coming a leader who will lead perfectly and exercise compassionate care for his people. Jesus, being God himself, always cares perfectly for his people. Jesus is the greatest leader we can hope for.

Psalm 72:16–17 NASB95

May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains; Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon; And may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth. May his name endure forever; May his name increase as long as the sun shines; And let men bless themselves by him; Let all nations call him blessed.

Pray for the blessings that flow from godly leadership.

When leaders lead properly, everybody gets better. There are two choices every leader has. First, he leader can grow the organization by finding people from outside the organization with the skill set needed for any given position, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The other choice is to identify people within the organization who exhibit a level of teachability and train them to become the people needed in key positions to propel the organization forward. I believe a good leader will first look for those within the organization with the passion and drive and love for the organization who will receive the training to become better leaders. Sometimes people from outside the organization will need to be brought in, but I would say for the most part, an organization has the people it needs if its leaders will invest in them.

The legacy of a leader lives on in those he leads. Think about this for a moment. Jesus had a ton of followers. The all had varying levels of commitment. Only twelve of them were poured into directly by their leader. Jesus knew that his time on earth was short. He is still the head of the church, but the hands and feet work was going to be done by those he intentionally trained to go out and do the work. Through the faithfulness of his disciples, Christianity is a major world religion today. Discipleship is really the process by which someone pours his or her life into others so that those others will be an extension of who they are. You are a part of every person who has ever had a positive impact in your life.

Psalm 72:18–19 NASB95

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.

Glorify God for his work in the lives of his leaders.

Credit for great leadership belongs to God, the greatest of leaders. He is the one who raises up leaders and knocks them down. If any leader is truly great, that leadership comes from God, not himself. Godly leadership should always point back to God, not the leader. Selfless service is the model for leadership. When leaders lead this way, everybody wins. The leader gets to empower those he leads to be creators and innovators, and the leader is freed from the burden of having to do it all himself. This kind of leadership reflects the leadership of Christ. When we find such leaders, we should praise God for them. When we find stinkers, we ought to pray that he would send a replacement.

To pray for the perfect leader is not an exercise in futility. Jesus has promised that he will come again. When he does, he will be the perfect leader this world needs. Until he comes, we must be sure to give him his proper place as the leader of our lives. We need to pray that godly leaders would rise to the occasion and stand against darkness. We ought to pray that leaders who reflect the leadership of God Almighty will lead with integrity, compassion, and humility. But we also pray that the coming king would come quickly as we long for his righteous rule on the earth.