Sheikh Abdullah Prayer House, Bethel, Deror_avi [CC BY-SA 4.0] Wikimedia Commons
O Lord, may the rulers rejoice in your strength and salvation.
I pray for the leaders of the Middle East.
Do not give them hearts of steel like the hard heart of Pharaoh
who refused to show mercy.
He did not listen to the voice of God.
Do not make our leaders like the militant Nebuchadnezzar,
who strove to conquer and exploit others.
Instead, make them like Cyrus,
whom you called the anointed one of God.
May our leaders be your servants, and then our servants!
Grant them your eternal blessings and reveal to them your salvation.
Answer their good prayers and let their hearts rejoice in you;
let their faith in you grow.
Prevent the devil from controlling their hearts,
lest they carry the flag of death.
Instead, change the hearts of our leaders;
convince them to create civilizations of love and life,
rather than regimes of hate or death.
Fill them with your blessings,
lest they become a channel of curse.
Make them a blessing to those inside and outside your church.
May they bless every poor, widowed, and needy person,
and all those who are in pain!
O Lord, dissolve the thick glue that keeps them on their tyrant thrones.
May they instead stick with you, with truth, with mercy, and with justice,
so that our countries can live in tranquility, quietness, godliness, and honor.
O Lord, bless the leaders of the Middle East in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Yohanna Katanacho, 1967 – , Palestinian Israeli evangelical theologian
The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!
You have granted him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips.
You came to greet him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.
Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
Surely you have granted him unending blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.
For the king trusts in the Lord;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.
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