Throughout Scripture leaders play a prominent role in the spiritual health of their people. Leaders, good and bad, were not just individuals tasked with executing military strategies or making political decisions. They influenced the populace to either honor or dishonor God. Pharoah was the embodiment of the Evil One that led a nation filled with false gods. When Israel had devolved into a divided kingdom, the two nations were categorized by the king’s faithfulness, or lack of it. The Bible reduced each monarch’s legacy to a single sentence. “[So and so] began to reign and he did what was right [or evil] in the eyes of the Lord.” As went the king, so went the people.
Christians should pray for their leaders. King David recognized the power of a praying people in Psalm 20. It starts “To the Choirmaster. A Psalm of David,” so it is a psalm authored by David but, in poetic form, it describes the people’s cry to God on his behalf. A war was imminent so they entreated God for their leader.
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions! (Ps. 20:1-5)
The “you” in this appeal to God is David. In saying, “May the LORD answer you, [King David],” the people acknowledged that he is who God had chosen to be their leader. They knew that any favor God granted to the king was favor granted to them. They wanted God to answer David in the day of trouble, to protect him, to give regard to his sacrifices, to fulfill his plans and, ultimately, to set up the nation’s banners in the name of God!
Having dedicated their king to the Lord, the people transitioned to a declaration of assurance.
Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. (Ps. 20:6-8)
What a testimony! The people under David’s reign had such great trust in God that they believed the thing they requested. They did not have an unhealthy “name it and claim it” (aka “blab it and grab it”). No, they demonstrated the kind of godly certitude recorded in 1 John 5:14-15. They were asking for something that was consistent with God’s will, namely that God would be glorified in the king’s victory. Because of that they knew that God heard them and would respond favorably.
Psalm 20 closes with “O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call.” The people prayed for the king, while placing their trust in the Lord. They wanted the sovereign Deliverer to deliver their earthly deliverer. In effect they prayed, “Lead the leader we need for the challenge before us.”
This psalm is a reminder that leaders matter. The people had a godly leader which resulted in the people praying to God for that leader. Pray that God would raise up more godly leaders for our country, our state, our church and places of business.
Praying for leaders in a way that is consistent with God’s will is important. Pray that God would answer godly leaders in the day of trouble, and, to the degree they seek to lead righteously, that God would fulfill their petitions.
“God save the king” seems like an outdated cliché by a foreign culture. However, in the context of Psalm 20 it is an acknowledgement of how God has ordered things. He appoints leaders. Pray that God will provide ones that He will answer with saving might in the day of trouble and that will answer us when we call. Trust wholeheartedly in God while you pray for those He put in positions of authority. “O Lord, save the king!”