Do you have a desire to pray for your country? Does it feel like there’s so much to pray for that you don’t know where to start? As the Fourth of July quickly approaches and as we look ahead to a presidential election in the fall, my desire to pray for our country has increased. That’s why I decided to get organized and create a 30-day plan to help me stay faithful in prayer for the United States. Today I’m sharing the basic outline of my plan, but I’m also offering a free PDF download of all 30 prompts at the end of this post. Or, you can order the full plan in bookmark form right here on my website (bonus: free shipping)!

3 Steps to Pray for the USA

1. Examine and surrender your heart.

It’s so important that we surrender to Jesus before we dive into praying for everything else. We see this modeled in Psalm 139:24 when David sings, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” 

The truth is, we are sinners. We get things wrong and our desires don’t always align with God’s will. That’s why Jesus commands us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Even the most politically-informed, biblically-aligned among us have blind spots. So, humbling yourself before Jesus is critical when you start to pray for your country. Prayers of praise, thanksgiving, confession, and asking for wisdom are all great to begin with.

2. Pray over the big picture issues.

Once you’ve surrendered your heart to God in prayer, you can start to pray over the big picture issues. In my 30 Days of Prayer Prompts for the USA plan, I keep things broad. For instance, one of my prompts is for protection against evil and enemies. If I’m out and about and only have a couple seconds to pray, this is a great short prayer. But if I’m at home and my daughter is sleeping or independently playing, I can take a little more time to pray more specifically. I can pray for protection from specific violent groups, evil individuals, wars, or even unbiblical ideologies that are harming the flourishing of our country and its citizens. I might even pray for specific laws that will defend and protect the United States. 

There are so many ways we can approach prayer for the issues. Ask the Spirit to guide you as you bring your requests to Him.

3. Pray for specific people.

Once we’ve covered the big picture issues in prayer, we can get even more specific and focus on individuals. Are you praying for the president and the current administration? What about your senator and state representative? Or how about church leaders—like your pastor and elders? And do you pray for the politician, journalist, or family member that grinds your gears? These are all great starting points. I encourage you to pray for people by name when you can. But again, even if your prayers are more broad or you do your best to get specific without knowing the names of people you want to pray for, remember that we pray to the all-knowing God of the universe. He hears, He knows, and He will answer.

Encouragement

I encourage you to get a prayer plan in place so you can start praying for your country regularly! Feel free to write your own plan in your prayer journal. But if you appreciate the simplicity of these three prompts and would like to go deeper, download and print my 30 Days of Prayer Prompts for the USA PDF for free! Or, order a beautiful, red, white, and blue bookmark with the same prayer prompts. All of my paper bookmarks ship free and you can get a special discount when you order four or more—so invite your friends and family to pray with you!

Let’s be faithful to pray for our country this Fourth of July, election season, and always!

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