I pray a simple prayer every election year. It is not intended as a snide comment or a swipe at one candidate or another. It is a simple plea to our Ultimate Authority, Our Father in Heaven, to give us the leaders we need and not those we deserve. 

Leaders like Hezekiah in this text are few. Leaders like Hezekiah after this crisis are many. He performed with integrity and wisdom in this moment. He turned the people toward God. He demonstrated true faith. He trusted God to do what only he can do. 

That’s good leadership.

Later, Hezekiah was told he would die and that he should set his affairs in order. He humbled himself before God and asked God to heal him. He did. 

Later still, emissaries from Babylon paid a visit. (See verse 31 below and Isaiah 36-39:8 for more of Hezekiah’s story.) Hezekiah showed them everything. He let them know how rich he was and how good God had been to him. Babylon couldn’t resist. They wanted those treasures for themselves. Hezekiah was told how the Babylonians would invade the land and overthrow the Kingdom of Judah after his death. Hezekiah was okay with that since he wouldn’t have to live through it. 

The king who humbled himself and prayed that God would extend his years did not pray and ask God to protect his people, including his own family, who would fall victim in the disaster to come. 

Leadership at the highest levels is filled with many temptations, some of which are simply too great to overcome for those whose walk with God is shallow at best. 

This is an opportune moment for us to remember the frailty of human leadership. It is a good time to recommit to God and God alone as our supreme authority. It is wise to pray for whoever ascends to the highest positions of leadership. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:1-3,

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,
for kings and all those who are in authority,
so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,
who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We have a responsibility to seek God’s guidance for those in elected and appointed places of authority. Our negligence, like Hezekiah’s, can prove dangerous. Let us seek God together for tranquil and quiet lives shaped by godliness and dignity. Let us live the kinds of lives that help others come to be saved and to know God’s truth. 

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I will pray for those in authority and those who want to be.

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Our Father, please bless us with the leaders we need and not those we deserve. Empower us to develop the habit of praying for our leaders. Deliver us from the disorder of our present day. Lead us into better days where every life is sacred, every home is healthy, and every group seeks the highest and best for everyone everywhere. Amen.