Faithful Prayer

Prayer is the sustaining practice of the Leaders and Followers Foundation.

Before the conversations, the journeys, the gatherings and the opportunities to serve, there is prayer.

The Apostle Paul tells the Church that prayer for those in authority must come first of all. Not as an afterthought. Not only when leaders agree with us. Not merely during elections, crises or war.

Decisions made in government offices, parliaments, boardrooms and courts shape the lives of people whom those leaders may never meet. Public responsibility can also be isolating. Leaders are surrounded by voices, demands and competing interests, yet may have few people with whom they can speak honestly.

Our calling is not to flatter those in authority, nor to use prayer as a means of gaining access. It is to stand before God on their behalf—and, when invited, to stand with them before God.

Sometimes this happens in public gatherings.

More often it happens quietly.

Many of these moments are never recorded. They need not be. Prayer is offered to God, not performed for an audience.

The disciples had watched Jesus teach, heal and speak with authority. Yet the request they brought to Him was simple:

Prayer is both a gift and a practice.

It begins in dependence: the recognition that we do not possess all wisdom, control every outcome or see the whole picture. Prayer brings us back beneath the authority of God and reminds us that leadership—whether exercised in a nation, a business, a church or a home—is always a stewardship.

Jesus taught His followers to pray for the Father’s name to be honoured, His Kingdom to come and His will to be done. He taught them to seek daily provision, forgiveness, reconciliation and deliverance from evil.

This remains the pattern for faithful prayer.

We bring real people, real decisions and real nations before God. But we do not simply ask Him to bless our preferred plans. We ask Him to correct us, guide us and bring our desires into agreement with His purposes.

For years, weekly prayer—instigated at the request of members of Congress as our nation faced a crisis—has provided the steady rhythm beneath the work of the Foundation.

Week by week, we gather people across cities, nations and time zones to pray methodically for those in authority. We pray across political parties, denominational boundaries and national borders.

We pray for restraint where passions are inflamed, courage where truth is costly, justice where people have been wronged, and peace where conflict appears immovable.

We also pray for the inner life of the leader: for character when no one is watching, humility when praise comes, endurance when criticism grows, and wisdom when the right course is not clear.

It slows our reactions. It exposes pride. It deepens compassion. It reminds us that no leader is beyond God’s reach and no nation lies outside His concern.

When Wednesday afternoon prayers coincide with ‘Votes’ in the U.S. House of Representatives we host our prayer zoom from the lobby off the house floor, allowing members to join to pray and be prayed for.

Scripture calls us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

This does not mean withdrawing from responsibility. It means carrying an awareness of God into every responsibility.

Prayer and presence therefore belong together.

Presence without prayer can become mere activity.

Prayer without presence can remain safely distant from the needs of others.

Faithful ministry requires both: to stand before God for people and, when He opens the way, to stand beside them.

Our prayer is that leaders will know they are not forgotten; that nations will be guided towards justice and peace; and that the Church will recover its calling to pray faithfully for all who carry authority.