How to Pray for the Nations

And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?” (Mark 11:17, Isaiah 56:7 NIV)

While Jesus’ call to pray for the nations of the world is indisputable, the practical how-tos of such a momentous task are not as clear. Praying effectively for the nations requires digging into both Old and New Testament Scriptures to discern God’s ultimate purposes for the nations.

Because we know that the key to getting our prayers heard and answered is to pray according to His will, we must ask the question: what is God’s will with regard to the nations of the world? “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15 NIV).

From a study of the Bible, the following are five ways, in which to pray for any given nation based on God’s will and His ways in dealing with the nations.

The ABCDE’s of Praying for the Nations

A. AUTHORITIES – Pray for the Leaders of Nations

• In one of the seminal calls to intercession for governmental leaders Paul writes “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings (presidents, prime ministers, dictators etc.) and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV).
• It helps to keep in mind that God can sovereignly work in a leader’s life and make a way where there seems to be no way.  Nothing is too hard for Him (Proverbs 21:1, Isaiah 43:19, Jeremiah 32:27).
• Pray for the gift of good government and for God to change times and seasons in nations by deposing bad rulers and raising up wise and righteous ones (Psalm 75:5-7, Daniel 2:21).

B. BELIEVERS – Pray for the Believers and Churches in that Country

• God’s purposes on earth are ordained to be accomplished through His church. (Ephesians 3:10)
• In Jesus’ great prayer for His followers recorded in John 17, we have a perfect model to use in praying for believers in a nation. There we see Him praying for the church to be 1) Glorifying God (17:1, 4),  2) Fortified against the enemy (17:11, 12 & 15),  3) Unified (17:11, 21-23),  4) Sanctified (17:17, 19),  5) Multiplied (17:18, 20-21),  6) Satisfied – Filled with Joy (17:13), and  7) Verified – Seeing His Presence and Glory (17:24).
• The Bible also encourages us to remember those who are persecuted for their faith and suffering as though we ourselves were there with them. (Hebrews 13:3) Therefore it is important to pray that God would bless them with His presence, comfort them, and deliver them (Matthew 5:10, Psalm 139:8, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 & Psalm 72:12-14).

C. CONTRITION – Pray Prayers of Repentant Confession on Behalf of the Nation

• “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people” (Proverbs 14:34 NIV).
• The role of the intercessor is to confess on behalf of the nation their sins, asking for God’s forgiveness, appealing to His mercy, and reminding Him of His ultimate purposes for that nation.   Two excellent models that can be used for such a prayer are the great intercessory prayers made by Moses and Nehemiah on behalf of the nation of Israel (Deuteronomy 9:26-29 & Nehemiah 1:4-11).
• God’s dealings with the nations, as demonstrated primarily in the Old Testament, were always based upon their relationship with Him and the corresponding obedience or disobedience to His moral law summed up in the Ten Commandments. He was continually appealing to them through His prophets to return to Him with humility and repentance, acknowledging their sin and asking for His mercy.
• Seek to identify in prayer the strongholds ruling over the nation that keep its people in bondage, and then pray that they might be torn down and the captives set free (2 Corinthians 10:4, Matthew 16:19, 18:18).

D. DESTINY – Discover & Pray for the Nation’s Divine Destiny

• God’s ultimate intention is that every nation will one day worship and glorify Him. In the book of Revelation we see a glimpse of a heavenly host singing what is referred to as the “song of Moses and of the Lamb” in which they declare, “All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:4  NIV).
• This is a direct quote from Psalm 86:9 which concludes with “they will bring glory to your name.” What an amazing picture this paints of God’s unrelenting purpose that “the kingdom of this world [becomes] the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ” that He might reign forever and ever (Revelation 11:15 ESV).
• Each nation in its founding was birthed with spiritual DNA for the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Discovering God’s original intent for a nation by studying its history is therefore a worthwhile pursuit. It enables the intercessor to pray with conviction for the fulfillment of His divine purposes for that nation. “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn” (Isaiah 51:1 NIV).

E. EVANGELISM – Pray for the Unfettered Preaching of the Gospel

• Jesus’ last command, known as the Great Commission, was for His followers to go forth into the whole world to all nations in order to preach the gospel of the kingdom and make disciples (Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10).
• Practically, that means praying for God to raise up Gospel workers to go forth into the harvest fields and for the effective and bold witness, even in the face of persecution, of all believers, both citizens and foreigners, in a given country (Matthew 9:38).
• Paul the Apostle makes it plain with regard to the nations that God “wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:3 NIV).

5 Questions for Watchmen to Ask in Observing the Nations

“Look at the nations and watch– and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” Habakkuk 1:5 (NIV)

“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the Lord replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.’” Habakkuk 2:1-2 (NIV)

The call of a Watchman Intercessor requires “watching” the nations in order to receive understanding into the Unfolding of God’s Purposes in the earth and Strategic Insights as to how to pray.

1. How do they relate to the Church of Jesus Christ?

• Is there freedom to worship and preach the gospel or are believers restricted in their activities and even persecuted for their faith?
• Is the church merely surviving or is it thriving?

 2. How do they relate to Israel?

• What nations are friendly to Israel and what nations oppose her?
• Scripture promises that those who bless Israel will themselves be blessed and those who curse it will be cursed (Genesis 12:3).

3. How do they relate to those who are Victims of Injustice?

• How do their Domestic and Foreign Policies affect the Poor, the Weak and Vulnerable, the Minorities, those Suffering, the Refugee, the Widow and Orphan?

4. Where does it appear that Anti-Christ Principalities and Powers are at Work?

• Are there Power Shifts in which nations are extending their Influence and Dominion?
• What nations are losing their Influence and Control – and to whom?
• How & with whom are nations aligned Economically, Politically, and/or Militarily?

5. Where is God at Work in and through all these things?

• How is God extending His kingdom and righteousness which He has promised to increase without end? (Isaiah 9:7)
• How and where are things aligning in fulfillment of end-time prophecies?

Pray both with the spirit and with the understanding – There are basically two approaches a person can take in praying for something or someone. We can pray by revelation from the Holy Spirit and by understanding we have gained from acquired knowledge.

Paul encourages intercessors to do both. “What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding (mind)” (1 Corinthians 14:15 ESV).  It is important to always be dependent upon the Holy Spirit for revelation in our praying, sensing both the focus of our prayer and specifically how to pray. But there is also a great benefit in gathering information about the subject of our prayer that provides wisdom in praying with greater depth of understanding. When combining revelation and research, invariably we find both a deepening of our burden and quickening of our faith.

A person can do research on key nations using the internet and also subscribe to daily Google news alerts for countries of interest to get daily news articles on developing trends.

For a Quick Reference and Information on Countries check out these websites:

CIA World Factbook – www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/

PRAYERCAST – www.prayercast.com

This list of approaches in praying for the nations is by no means exhaustive or definitive, but it can provide a good starting place in answering Jesus’ call to be a house of prayer for all nations. I would be interested in getting your feedback and wisdom as to things you have learned or practices that you have developed in praying effectively for the nations.

© 2021 Tom Stuart Some Rights Reserved  (You are free and encouraged to share this material in any medium or format for the benefit of others. The only requirement is that you give appropriate credit.)