Praying for the World February 9, 2026 Issue

Facing political pressure with spiritual strength

When headlines get intense, we don’t have to grow numb.

Abraham McLaughlin

Keeping up with today’s national and global developments can feel like living in a cauldron of political pressure. If we’re not in the storm ourselves, the sheer volume of political twists and turns can make us feel numb to the news. Yet, looking to those who have withstood the storm and triumphed shows us that responding with grace and confidence in good starts with the truths we hold in our heart.

The Bible offers compelling examples. Consider the spiritual clarity and bravery of four individuals: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel. They’d been taken from their home in Israel and were being indoctrinated by their Babylonian captors. Yet they held in their hearts strong spiritual truths—and got to witness dramatic turnarounds.

In Babylon, the pressure—political, religious, and cultural—was ferocious. One of the world’s most powerful kings was insisting that all his subjects worship a lifeless statue (see Daniel 3). When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused, the king threatened them, but they held to a remarkable truth in their hearts: God was more powerful than this ruler. They responded calmly, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.” And they stood their ground.

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