Prayers for President Trump

As of January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump became the 45th President of the United States (for us history buffs, he is actually 44, I’m looking at you Grover). This is settled and final. Contrary to your affiliations, feelings, or political sensibilities-Trump is now our President, this is just the way it is. I’ll be perfectly honest; Trump was not my first, second, or even third choice…but I voted for him, as I determined he was my only choice left (sadly I voted more against than for, but that speaks more to me than him!). With all that said, I think we now are obligated to want the best for President Trump (trying to get used to that too!) and pray for him.

Praying for Trump is the focus of this article. I think it goes without saying scripture implores us (command, if you will) to do so, 1 Timothy 2:1-3 (HCSB) “First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,” and it actually seems to include this as part of leading others to Christ, 1 Timothy 2:4 (HCSB) “who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17 are clearly passages that tell us our duties as citizens, regardless of the country we live in (I would say doing it in America is easier than China, but…you probably know that!).

Praying for our President (whoever it is) should be a no-brainer. So, this article is more about WHAT we should we pray, as opposed to the idea of praying. I think there are a few things we could pray specifically, and if I can, and if it will help, I will make a few suggestions. Some of these ideas are not exclusive to President Trump, though some will be because of the nature of his position. So let me give you five specific things to pray for our President.

HIS HEART

“The human heart has so many crannies where vanity hides, so many holes where falsehood lurks, is so decked out with deceiving hypocrisy, that it often dupes itself.” (John Calvin in A Calvin Treasury. Christianity Today, Vol. 37, no. 4). The President is in need of our prayers for his heart, Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT) “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” Just as anyone has heart issues, the President surely does too. The job would, by its very nature, be an opportunity for the heart to grow full of pride or despair. Whether President Trump is a Christian or not, is not for me to judge, but I can pray, Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV) “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” A President with the right heart can only be a good thing for our nation.

HIS FAMILY

President Trump has a family; wife, grown children, and a young son that will grow up in the White House. Criticism will flourish, as it will invariably do, and his family will endure much harsh critics of him (I’m sure they’ve tasted a fair bit already). Our prayer should be that his family flourishes under the circumstances, that in a sense anything that would seem to be a negative would be used to bring greater unity, a stronger bond, and a greater sense of closeness within the Trump family. It seems to me our prayer, for the President and his family, should be as the old blessing, Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)-

“24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”

OUR NATION

It seems to me praying for our President is a prayer for our country. We can pray that God uses this President as an instrument of peace, tranquility, and, yes, even prosperity. “God is a peacemaker. Jesus Christ is a peacemaker. So, if we want to be God's children and Christ's disciples, we must be peacemakers too.” (John R. W. Stott, quoted in "Reflections," Christianity Today, Vol. 45, no. 5). Every President faces some tragedy, terrorist attack, and/or natural disaster that strains their leadership and the resources of our nation. Praying that God makes him a competent leader seems a no-brainer. Our nation has some very deep issues, real problems, and decades (if not longer) of wrong policies. We can hope (and pray) that our new president brings about good for this nation. Let us pray, 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (ASV) “I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men; 2 for kings and all that are in high place; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity.”

OUR COUNTRY’S DIVISION

This one seems to be the most miracle needing of them all, so far. Our country now exists in a Left/Right mentality that permeates all society and culture. Very few things bring us into harmony and unity as a country, these days. As we look at the makeup of the Congressional and Senatorial bodies, there are very few moderates, of either party. Now don’t misunderstand my comments, to this point. Taxes, abortion, and the economy in general (just to give a few policy examples) should be driven by conservative ideas, in my opinion. Liberal policies and agendas are a dangerous path for our nation to travel, I truly believe. With that said, I think that our prayer for this President should be to become a conduit of some type of unity and reconciliation in our country, Psalm 133:1 (KJV) “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” This should be our prayer, Ephesians 4:3 (NLT) “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.”

GOD’S KINGDOM

I am of the opinion God brought the United States into existence to be an instrument for His glory and the advancement of the Kingdom of God. If you believe, as I do, God is sovereign and also, Psalm 47:8 (KJV) “God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.” You must then be willing to pray for leaders, even ones we think may not be so ‘righteous’. God has used many men in history as instruments of His purposes, men we would not have chosen. Men like Cyrus, Nebuchadnezzar, and Pontius Pilate were part of God’s plans to accomplish His work. Esther was queen, and her uncle declared, Esther 4:14 (KJV) “…who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Who understands God’s ways, President Trump was chosen by God for “such a time as this” we may say. Let us pray, as Christ did, Matthew 6:10 (KJV) “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

CONCLUSION

These prayers, and you can add some of your own, are sufficient to keeps us busy praying for our President. I confess that I did vote for him, and also he wasn’t my first, or second, or third, or…well I think you get the point. What I know to be true, he is the President of the United States, this is clearly a time to rally around him and wish (and pray) for his best and the best for our nation. Is it okay to criticize President Trump? What justification is there to think he is immune from criticism and shouldn’t be held accountable for his actions? We should hold his feet to the fire, but we should also pray for him, as he is in need of divine direction and God’s help.

#prayer #presidenttrump #nation