Kairos Consultancy Group

Leadership is hard.

If you’re in it, you know exactly what I mean. If you’re not, may the Lord illuminate your spirit with revelation.

As a leader, it’s easy to get so caught up in attending to the needs of others that you forget to feed your soul and spirit. You forget to be still and take stock of how you are. You can be running on fumes and not even realize it until your body begins to fall apart on you.

As a follower, it’s easy to hold a leader in such high esteem that you forget they’re human, you forget that for all they give to you, they need your love, prayer and support too. Similarly, you can get so caught up in a leader’s weaknesses and mistakes that you disregard the need to support them in prayer and in kind. They were never qualified for leadership based on perfection and so their imperfections do not disqualify their authority in your life.

In the age of social media, Christians have excelled at the art of throwing accusations at each other and at leaders. It doesn’t take rocket science to point out what’s not working and build a monument out of it. Anyone can do that. If anything, the devil is referred to as the accuser of brethren in the Bible. So whose work are we really doing in our gusto of speculation and accusation?

“Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.”

– Exodus 17:11-13 ESV

Consider what would happen, if every time you wanted to complain or accuse a leader about something, you prayed for them instead. Do we really believe in the power of intercession over the lives of people? Do we love them enough to commit them to the One with the ability to help them be better? It is the ultimate test of honour and humility to cover the nakedness of a leader you serve.

As someone submitted to another in authority, I ask you to take time to pray for those in leadership over you. There is so much they go through and handle that you are unaware of. For all their faults and flaws, their authority over your life and the lives of others will only bear the right fruit to the degree they are led of God. Whether they are Christians or not, the call to pray for them stands.

If you’re a leader, I ask you to take time to pray for yourself today. Take yourself to the quiet streams of the presence of God and allow Him to still every raging worry and concern you have. The work of your hands as a leader requires you to be firmly held in His hands.

May every weak and weary place in you be strengthened in Jesus’ name.