In the United States, the third Monday of February is Washington’s Birthday, a national holiday. Its purpose is to honor our country’s first president, George Washington, who was born on February 22, 1732.

Congress considered renaming it Presidents Day in 1968 to honor Abraham Lincoln (born February 12, 1809) as well, but the legislative effort failed. It garnered popular support, though, so Washington’s Birthday has been Presidents Day in the public vocabulary ever since.

Most of us will go through the day without giving a thought to Washington or Lincoln or any other president, let alone honoring them. As we think about the 46 individuals who have held the office so far, which ones should we honor?

Washington? Of course!

Lincoln? Sure!

Andrew Johnson? Absolutely not!

(Feel free to insert the name of your least favorite president instead of Johnson’s, if you like.)

For Christians, the question is not whether we honor our nation’s chief executives, but whether we pray for them. And not just for presidents, but also for leaders through federal, state, and local government. It is our biblical duty (1 Timothy 2:1–2).

So how should we pray for our president? Psalm 72 offers several suggestions.

An Interpretive Question

Before we get to those suggestions, though, let me talk about how Psalm 72 was first used and address an interpretive question that we must answer.

That psalm was likely used as a coronation prayer. The title “Of Solomon” may mean that he wrote it. Or, given the use of the phrase “of David” in verse 20, it may mean that the psalm was used at Solomon’s installation as Israel’s king.

And that raises an interpretive question: Can we use prayer for a king as a model of prayer for a president? Democracy is not like monarchy, after all; and America is not Israel.

That is undoubtedly true, but we should also consider that government may take different forms and yet still pursue the same purposes. Psalm 72 highlights themes of justice, prosperity, and peaceful relations with foreign nations. Regardless of whether a government is monarchical or democratic, those themes are universal.

If so, then Psalm 72 is very relevant to how we should pray for the president and other political leaders. So let’s look at what it says.

Ethical Character

First, Psalm 72 teaches us to pray for the ethical character of our leaders. “Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness” (verse 1). Justice and righteousness are parallel terms describing a cardinal moral virtue.

For the sake of our nation, ask God for good leaders enacting good policies that produce good results.

Verse 2 points to why government leaders need this virtue: “May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice.” In the Bible, the character of the decider determines the character of the decision. As Jesus puts it, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart” (Luke 6:45).

If that’s the case, we cannot expect bad politicians to produce good policies. Oh sure, they may get things right from time to time. A stopped clock is right twice a day, after all. Over the long haul, though, character is destiny, for people and for nations.

Personal Relationship

Second, Psalm 72 teaches us to pray for our leaders’ personal relationship with God. Verse 1 doesn’t speak of justice and righteousness in the abstract. It speaks of “your justice” and “your righteousness.” This second-person pronoun refers to God.

According to Psalm 78:5, God “decreed statutes for Jacob, and established the law in Israel.” Over the course of history, however, the people of Israel rejected this covenant (verses 10, 37). This was more than disobedience. It was personal unfaithfulness: “their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant” (verse 37).

In the face of this disobedience, God established the Davidic dynasty. “He chose David his servant … to be the shepherd of his people Jacob” (verses 70–71). Whatever David’s failings — and they were many! — Scripture nevertheless describes him as “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). David worshiped the One True God wholeheartedly.

Unlike Israel, America is not a covenant nation, and the president is elected by us, not anointed by God. Nevertheless, we should still pray for the spiritual state of our leaders.

Remember, Psalm 72:1 implores God to “endow” political leaders with “your justice” and “your righteousness” (emphases added). This implies that virtuous leaders need a relationship with God, the source of all virtue.

And when they sin, they need salvation.

I cited 1 Timothy 2:1–2 as a proof text for our duty to pray for government leaders. Now, however, I want you to notice its salvific intent. Paul uses the phrase “all people” three times in 2:1–7. God wants us to pray for “all people” (verse 1) because He desires “all people to be saved” (verse 4), a desire evidenced by the fact that Christ “gave himself as a ransom for all people” (verse 6).

The first group of people on Paul’s prayer list? “Kings” (verse 2).

Good Policies

Third, Psalm 72 teaches us to pray that our leaders will enact good policies. “May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice.” Throughout this psalm, justice and righteousness are both virtues and outcomes, the root and fruit of good governance.

According to the psalmist, the king should pay special attention to the people most vulnerable to the vicissitudes of life. They are described as “afflicted” (verses 2,4,12) “needy” (verses 4,12,13), and “weak” (verse 13). They are victims of “oppression and violence” (verse 14).

In the face of injustice, the king will “defend” (verse 4), “save” (verses 5,13), “deliver” (verse 12), “take pity” (verse 13), and “rescue” (verse 14) the oppressed and the violated. He does this not merely because it’s his profession, but because it’s his passion: “precious is their blood in his sight” (verse 14).

Obviously, public policy takes the wellbeing of the entire population into account, not merely that of a few. Still, I think Pearl S. Buck was right when she wrote that “the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members.” Psalm 72 endorses that perspective.

Peace

Fourth, Psalm 72 teaches us to pray for peace. “May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness” (verse 3). “In his days, may the righteous flourish and prosperity abound till the moon is no more” (verse 7). The Hebrew word the NIV translates as prosperity is shalom — peace.

Peace is more than the absence of violence, though never less. It is the presence of flourishing. The psalmist uses various images to illustrates the meaning of shalom.

Meteorological: When governing officials lead well, it is like “rain falling on a mown field” or “showers watering the earth” (verse 6).

Metallurgical: “May gold from Sheba be given him,” says verse 15.

Agricultural: In verse 16, the psalmist prays: “May grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops flourish like Lebanon and thrive like the grass of the field.”

These images recur throughout the psalm. They describe what people want from government: peace and prosperity. They’re what most people start their prayers with: “Dear God, heal the pain! Meet our needs!”

In reality, this is where we should end our prayers, for shalom is not a cause; it is an effect. Justice and righteousness are the cause; peace is the result. Wherever justice leads, shalom follows.

So, this Presidents Day, lift our president to the Lord in prayer, along with other federal, state, and local officials. Pray that they will come to faith in God or grow in their relationship with Him. And then, for the sake of our nation, ask God for good leaders enacting good policies that produce good results.