(From L-R: Titi, Christiana, Adelaide, Andrea, Nicole and Jasbleidy smile having prayed at their first of three locations, the U.S. Supreme Court, during their intercessory prayer outreach for our nation, nation’s leaders, three branches of government and furloughed federal workers, on Saturday, November 1, 2025 in Washington, D.C.)

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. – Proverbs 21:1 (ESV)

Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle (Psalm 24:8, NIV). May we always remember this, whatever the situation. We were grateful when our sister in Christ, Titi, exhorted us with an impassioned reading from Psalm 24 as we prepared to intercede on behalf of our nation, our nation’s leaders, our three branches of government and furloughed federal government workers during our November 1 Gathered in His Name intercessory prayer and outreach amid the federal government shutdown.

Earlier in the week, it was deeply on our hearts to pray for our nation and those impacted by the shutdown. These concerns are heavily on the hearts, minds and in the prayers of many in our greater Washington, D.C. area and nation. We decided to intentionally make our prayers of intercession onsite at each branch of government: the U.S. Supreme Court (judicial), the U.S. Capitol (legislative) and the White House (executive), as we are commanded to pray for our leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-4). So, that Saturday morning, six of us gathered at Union Station accompanied by the Holy Spirit to discuss our prayer points and have prayer before deploying to the locations. Key scriptures were from Proverbs 21:1 and 2 Chronicles 7:14, followed by “21 Bible Prayers for Government Leaders” prayer points that I provided our group. Some of those prayer points included:

• Pray for our government leaders to be open to the gospel. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
• Pray for God to keep them from wickedness. (Proverbs 16:12)
• Pray for leaders to defend the needy. (Psalm 72:4-5, 12-14)
• Pray that they will courageously stand for life. (Psalm 139:13, Isaiah 44:24, Proverbs 24:11)
• Pray that God will give them wisdom and surround them with wise counselors. (James 1:5, Proverbs 24:5-6)
• Pray for them to humble themselves. (Proverbs 16:5, 18-19)
• Pray that they will bring the nation’s needs before the Lord. (2 Kings 19:8-19)
• Pray for leaders to judge righteously. (Psalm 72:1-3)
• Pray for individuals who will speak the truth courageously to leaders. (Daniel 3:8-30; Acts 4)

We also prayed that WE would have the right heart posture toward our leaders. (1 Samuel 24:9-11, 1 Peter 2:13-17, Titus 3:1-2)

Proverbs 21:1 assures us that God “turns the king’s heart wherever he will” and that He can guide a leader’s decisions to fulfill His purposes; that He can influence their hearts for the good of His people.

We arrived first at the U.S. Supreme Court where we gathered on the main landing of the front steps. The chilly windy morning could not quell the fire of the Holy Spirit within us! Our sister in Christ, Christiana, had it on her heart to worship and exalt our LORD before presenting our petitions, at which we sang “Alpha and Omega.” He is indeed worthy to be praised!! The Spirit then led us to Psalm 99. Nine verses. Nine Supreme Court justices. Psalm 99 is a worship Psalm, emphasizing the holiness of God and His righteous rule. It reveals that Our Lord reigns and calls for people to revere Him. It also reminds us that our God hears and answers prayers, answering the prayers of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. These themes are also found in Psalm 24, a worship Psalm. Exalting the Lord outside the U.S. Supreme Court before praying there shifted our perspective. Yes, we were at the Supreme Court—the highest court in the land that addresses, answers questions about, and upholds constitutional and federal laws—and yet, our LORD reigns supreme above our institutions!

We prayed Psalm 145 and we each prayed a verse from Psalm 99.

Next, at the Capitol we prayed scripture from Exodus 17, the account of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ hands when he became tired while interceding in prayer for Joshua and the Israelites in their battle against the Amalekites. In this passage, Joshua’s success in battle was not so much dependent upon his abilities, but rather the rise and fall of Moses’ hands in prayer. Recognizing this, Aaron and Hur lifted Moses’ hands which strengthened Joshua and the Israelites to fight the Amalekites through sundown and defeat their enemy. This passage emphasizes the very reality of spiritual warfare, that we need help from others in such engagement of our adversary, and we must remain fervent in prayer (strengthening and covering one another). We also discussed the tragic events that occurred on January 6th, 2021, that led to violence, injuries, and loss of life, which we lamented. We prayed for healing of the land and against attacks of the enemy.

Our last stop was outside the White House. We took turns praying each of the 21 prayer points for government leaders and the scriptures associated with them. We first and foremost prayed for President Trump’s salvation in Christ Jesus—a gift of grace, not of good works.

We travailed in prayer at each of the three locations.

We know God is working and that He hears the prayers and cries of His People. We are grateful for the Holy Spirit leading us, directing our hearts and words on what to pray. Our Lord, Our King of Glory, reigns supreme and is sovereign over all things! The government is upon HIS shoulders! (Isaiah 9:6) Even at our best, humans govern imperfectly. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in His full authority, will govern with divine justice, peace, and power. For those of us in Christ Jesus, we are citizens of an unshakeable Kingdom (Hebrews 12:28). We look to the rule, reign, power and sovereignty of THIS KING OF GLORY, in whom ultimate authority rests. Because He reigns supreme, we have the hope and great assurance that we can trust God’s plans. His purposes will be accomplished, even amid flawed humans and systems and less than ideal circumstances.

The day was truly a blessed time of prayer, praise and fellowship with these beautiful Daughters of Zion!

-Nicole