We are in the midst of a spiritual fight for the future of our nation, but I fear the church has not understood the battle.

In preparation for this article earlier this week, I felt the Lord lead me to focus on corruption and injustice. Before the week was out, a flurry of examples appeared in the news:

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• Expansion of the Supreme Court to create a liberal majority.
• The addition of Washington, D.C. as a state to add liberal votes to the House and Senate.
• The ongoing calls to abolish the Electoral College.
• The police shootings and the ensuing riots.
• The Department of Homeland Security paid over $350 per bed to house illegal immigrants in hotels.
• One of President Joe Biden’s top nominees to the Department of Justice called for “defunding police.”
• Reporting suggests earmarks (pork) could be returning.

Those examples from this week do not include a long litany of other scandals, from the Russia investigation to Lisa Page and Peter Strzok targeting Trump to questions over voter fraud.

The issues listed above are key points to any serious prayer warrior’s strategy.

However, as important as these matters are, I fear they are just the fruit of a deeper root issue. As intercessors we must always ask God what the root of the matter is or we will never find victory.

When you chop down a tree, it appears to be dealt with, but the roots still remain.

Insider Spiritual Intelligence

To get some insider intelligence for this article, I spoke with a Christian who worked in the highest levels of government during the Trump administration, including the Department of Justice. I’ve protected his name, but he is a trustworthy source who worked closely with former Alabama Senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

During our interview, my source explained that much of the corruption in Washington, D.C. is legal, not illegal. The church often focuses on the illegal few instances that grab headlines, but the majority of corruption comes through the legal, “bad faith” ways our government and laws can be manipulated. That means while their actions may be technically legal, their motives can be impure.

The cultural acceptance of these practices feeds a spirit of injustice and corruption that later manifests in bigger ways.

“There are not these overt, super clear locations of corruption,” he said. “It’s much more widespread and invasive … I think it would be so much easier if there were these 15 overt actions a day of corruption. [T]here are hundreds or thousands of them every day, but they are tiny. Individually they are insignificant, but when you pile them all together…”

Corruption is often legal and widespread. It is rooted in a spirit and the hearts of those who make decisions in Washington, not in a particular investigation or scandal.

While we pick one or two scandalous headlines and focus our attention there, the Enemy is doing a hundred things behind the scenes. We cannot simply pray for an end to voter fraud or court-packing or for protection of the Electoral College.

We must, as my source put it…

“Pray that hearts are turned,” he said. “It’s not in some huge, blockbuster movie scene thing where someone is about to do something illegal, but then they don’t do that illegal thing. It’s more that people’s hearts are turned toward justice, that they recognize God has a part for them to play and they do that in a spirit of love and humility instead of a spirit of selfishness.”

To put it another way, we must focus our attention on the “root” of the tree of corruption, instead of only focusing on the “fruit” of bad policies or scandalous headlines.

To this end, we beseech the Lord and declare this verse:

Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted.” (Mt 15:13)

What does corruption and injustice look like in Washington, D.C.?

Examples of legal “corruption” would be secretive campaign donations, favors that violate the interests of the American people, and of course the infamous “swamp.”

Even the swamp, though, is not simply a handful of bad actors pulling the strings. It is a system that rewards the experienced with more power. More importantly, it is a process the American people don’t understand and have very little control over. We like to think we elect our leaders, but there are thousands of staffers, officials, and bureaucrats making decisions every day. They were handpicked, but we don’t know their name.

“What does the swamp look like…?” my source asked. “We like to pretend that the swamp are these evil guys with pencil mustaches. But more often than not the swamp is probably the people that we think are most qualified for this job—a Yale law school graduate who worked on Capitol Hill and became a lobbyist and deservedly has the reputation as an expert.

“The very obvious levers of power are seldom the most effective levels of power,” he added.

We must pray, then, for God to turn the hearts of the experts, or as some say, the “ruling class,” to fulfill the command given in the book of Micah: “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly” with our God.”

Our prayer strategy, then, is threefold:

1. Pray against the individual instances of corruption and injustice like expanding the Supreme Court, abolishing the Electoral College, and cursing our police departments. Pray that the enemy’s plans to warp the laws that govern our people would be thwarted.
2. Pray that the root, not just the fruit, of corruption would be removed from the nation’s Capital, that the spirit of corruption would be replaced with the Holy Spirit of Justice in the hearts of the ruling class in Washington. Pray also that the police departments would act wisely and their citizens would act peacefully.
3. Pray that the thousands of smart, usually young, people (many of whom I know personally) go against the culture of corruption and self-interest. Pray that they have their hearts awakened to justice. Pray that they fulfill the call of Micah. 

Verses to pray into as you intercede for this issue:

Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. (Eph 5:11)

Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted.” (Mt 15:13)

Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly” with our God. (Mic 6:8)

Share this insider intercessory intelligence with your friends!

Casey Harper is a writer in the Washington, D.C. area covering national politics. He has worked for The Daily Caller, The Hill, and Sinclair Broadcast Group. A graduate of Hillsdale College, Casey’s work has also appeared in Fox News, Fox Business, Washington Examiner, and USA Today. Follow him on Twitter: @CaseyHarper33. Photo Credit: Getty Images.)