Can I admit something here?
I did not vote for Barack Obama either time. And yet, he was my President, all eight years. I honored him constantly (I Peter 1:17 instructs us to honor the king) and I prayed for him often (I Timothy 2:1-2 instructs us to pray for the king and others in authority over us).
Christ-followers have our orders. Scripture is clear on this. Remember that when the Apostle Peter said to “honor the king,” Nero sat on the throne.
Donald Trump ain’t no Nero, thank the Lord.
So, you can do this. Maybe tomorrow more so than today. It takes time for the awareness to settle in.
You will honor the President, and you will pray for him.
I believe in you.
There is one massive, over-riding reason for praying for Mr. Trump, and it is not just that we are commanded to do so, although that should be enough.
So much is riding on him getting this right. The stakes are so high. Not just this land, but millions throughout the world look to America’s leaders to do the right thing, to hold their rogue nation accountable, to stand up to the oppressors, to help the helpless. The opportunity is limitless, the responsibility enormous.
And Donald Trump is weak. He does not have what it takes to do this right. No one does.
Please don’t miss that. No. One. Does.
The job is too big, the pressures too great, the needs too overwhelming,
Scripture puts it bluntly. “I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself; nor is it in a man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).
That’s why you and I are going to pray for him.
Whether he asks for it or not, we will lift him in prayer. Whether he feels he needs it or not. Whether he ever knows it or appreciates it.
We will pray for him.
After all, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1).
And—this is a biggie—we will then leave the results with the Lord.
That is to say, we will not be checking the next day’s news to see if our prayers worked. You will not know in your lifetime what your prayers accomplished.
You never do.
You pray by faith. And that means, we pray believing in the Lord, asking Him to lead us in how to pray, and then we leave the results with Him.
When we get to Heaven, we will find out what our prayers accomplished.
But not before.
Is that enough for you? Can you do that? “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Our Lord put it this way: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8).
Anyone can pray for those he loves and believes in. You and I will do that, but also for some we’re not quite sure about (smile please) and even for our enemies, as Jesus commanded in Luke 6:27ff.
We are Christians. We can do this.
