Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. ~1 Peter 2:13-14 (NIV)
God’s word is very clear regarding how He expects His people to act in every situation. He tells us in Romans 13:1 “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (NIV) That means our president has been established by God and the officer who pulled you over for speeding obtained his authority from God. Sure, there are going to be times when leaders and those who are in authority make poor choices but that does not give us the right to withhold our honor or prayers for these people. God says we are supposed to pray for our leaders in positions of authority. He tells us this in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 saying, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority…” (NIV) This is not a request, it is a requirement. When was the last time you prayed for your president? When was the last time you prayed for a police officer? Our culture today shows more outright dishonor than any generation before us. Children dishonor their parents; parents dishonor the law and those who make and enforce it and our government officials dishonor the very people who put them into office. This type of behavior produces fruit and before we find ourselves eating that fruit we better get to the root of the problem. It doesn’t matter what any of us find ourselves doing in life, the temptation to abuse our authority and the enticement to legislate our own personal agenda can prove to be too much for us to fight. That is why we are called to pray for those in these positions. They have to be constantly on guard against these temptations, and they have to be constantly aware of who they are representing. To do that, they must be very conscious about every decision to make sure that every decision brings honor and glory to God first and foremost.
The word revival literally means an awakening; to restore to life or consciousness. Many of us need to wake up so we can be restored. We need to be conscious of our actions and what God’s word says about our actions. Revival starts with one person. Someone who decides they are going to live their life by God’s principals and when they do the Holy Spirit ignites the heart of that person and it begins to spread. Just like sin and corruption spread, revival can spread in your heart and throughout your community. You might think that you could never do it, but the good news is it’s not up to you to accomplish. If you give your will to God, then He will accomplish His will through you. When our days, our lives and even our communities start to fall apart we need to realize we are eating the fruit of dishonor. We need revival in our hearts and in our homes. That’s where all revival starts! We need the Spirit of God to come into our life and empower us to change ourselves and our environments. We need to allow God to move us to pray for the injustices we see instead of perpetuating the problem dishonoring those the Lord has established in their positions. Prayer moves the hands of God and there is no doubt we need revival in our nation today. It begins with one person saying yes to God’s way and forsaking their own. It’s easy to think, “We will never change, or nothing will ever change.” But that is a lie from the devil, God says everything we can see is temporal. Make the decision to live for God and He will send all of heaven to back you up.
Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. ~Zechariah 1:3 (NIV)
What have you allowed God to accomplish through you this week?
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