Here is another scriptural way to pray for the salvation of cities and nations for the Lord: we find it in the book of Timothy. We are instructed to pray for those who hold “high positions.” Naturally, if these individuals in positions of authority within a nation are transformed to the glory of God, then the Lord will have greater liberty to move in that nation, countering the devil’s plans and bringing people to salvation.

“I urge, then, FIRST OF ALL, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for ALL PEOPLE— for KINGS and ALL THOSE IN AUTHORITY, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (God) who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” —1 TIMOTHY 2:1, 2, 4

Note carefully what Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:1: “…FIRST OF ALL…” This means that we are to pray for all people and for those in high positions even before praying for our families or ourselves.

Praying according to the Word and giving priority to essential matters always brings results. Praying according to the latest spiritual “trend,” which is not firmly based on the Word of God, will never produce eternal fruit. To the extent that we pray for national leaders, we will witness changes, as the Bible declares:

“…that we may live PEACEFUL AND QUIET LIVES in all godliness and holiness…” (1 Timothy 2:2).

Yes, there are evil spirits that dominate cities and nations, influencing those in key positions. Even if we cannot “once and for all” overthrow these demonic strongholds, as we continue to pray for national leaders, we can hinder the devil’s strategies, render them ineffective on earth, and help ensure that God’s purposes prevail.

However, praying for national leaders does not mean praying for politicians from our favorite party to win elections. We are not capable of judging from political platforms which candidates are best suited to hold key positions in our nation.

In other words, when we pray, we are not to align ourselves with any political figure for our government. Let us simply pray that the right person is elected to the highest office. Of course, we are entitled to have an opinion about who seems most qualified, but only God truly knows. Therefore, we must pray for God’s will to be done in this matter.

He desires us to pray for those in positions of authority so that peace may reign in our nations. Then, we will be able to preach the Gospel without hindrance. As long as the devil is stirring up unrest in nations, we will not be able to live peaceful and quiet lives or preach the Gospel freely to the ends of the earth.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the MESSAGE OF THE LORD MAY SPREAD RAPIDLY and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be DELIVERED FROM WICKED AND EVIL PEOPLE, for not everyone has faith.” 2 THESSALONIANS 3:1-2

When we pray this way, we will be delivered from “wicked and evil men” in every domain and sector of our nation, and the Word of God will then have free course.

Thus, the main reason the Lord wants us to pray for national leaders is so that the Gospel can be preached, and people can be rescued from the kingdom of darkness. God’s plan and purpose for the Church is that it proclaims the Gospel to all nations: “

This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

This is the scriptural way to render the devil’s influence ineffective on the earth.

When the Gospel has been proclaimed to all nations, the end will come, the Bible says. The devil doesn’t want that end to come, because he knows it will be his end! He will thus attempt to erect every possible roadblock to stop the preaching of the Gospel worldwide (Mark 16:15).

In times of trouble and war, it becomes much harder to proclaim the Good News. That’s why the devil uses unbelievers—whose minds he has blinded (2 Corinthians 4:4)—to stir up conflict. He wants to hinder the advance of God’s work.

But it is the responsibility of Christians to ensure that the enemy does not succeed in implementing his strategies against them. As we obey the Bible’s command to pray for those in authority and for the nations of the world, we can help thwart Satan’s plans and fulfill God’s purposes on earth.

Christians have the authority to pray in Jesus’ name and change the situation in their country, wherever they may be. When we pray, we are giving God permission to intervene and manage the situation in place of Satan, the god of this world—regardless of the nation’s condition.

When Christians take their place in prayer, in the name of Jesus, exercising their delegated authority, God draws many souls into His kingdom. We are not fighting the enemy to gain this authority—it has already been given to us in the name of Jesus (Matthew 28:18–20). When we take our position in prayer, we are simply exercising the authority Jesus secured for us.

We have witnessed a situation where the Word of God triumphed over the enemy’s strongholds in the decline of communism in Eastern Bloc countries. In 1983, the Lord began prompting me to pray according to James 5:7: “...The farmer waits for the precious fruit of the EARTH… until it receives the early and latter rains.”

At the time, we organized weekly prayer meetings here at RHEMA, and I said: “I believe we’ve been mistaken in how we pray for the nations behind the Iron Curtain. I believe many of us have unconsciously declared that communist countries are unreachable with the Gospel. We have prayed for the Christians in these countries, but how many of us have prayed for the communist leaders?

“The Bible doesn’t say the Lord is waiting for the precious fruit of the United States or the free world. He is waiting for the precious fruit of the earth, which includes communist nations. This means that before Jesus returns, there must be a revival behind the Iron Curtain and the Bamboo Curtain, because the Bible says there will be a harvest from the whole earth.”

Thus, week after week, in our prayer meetings, we interceded for communist nations, as well as for other countries of the world, asking the Lord to send the rain—an outpouring of the Holy Spirit—on these nations, in accordance with Zechariah 10:1: “Ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain…” We prayed for the communist leaders of these nations according to 1 Timothy 2:1-2, and we asked the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers (Matthew 9:38).

By directing our prayers to the Lord of the harvest, we take our place on earth as the triumphant Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Satan’s dominion over lost souls begins to weaken. This is how we set people free from the enemy’s bondage. When we pray for those in authority in the cities and nations of the world, we weaken the influence of the devil’s kingdom in those places, and thus God can establish His ways instead of the enemy’s…

This text is an excerpt from the book “The Triumphant Church: Dominion Over All the Powers of Darkness” written by Kenneth Erwin Hagin.

We invite you to read the next article: “Warfare Tongues.”

High Positions