The peaceful and orderly transfer of power from one president to another is an amazing accomplishment in this present world order. President Obama was right to stress this fact home to his supporters, and all of America, in his farewell address. For a nation to make such a change, with reasonable peace in this chaotic world, is a rare thing.
There are many reasons for a peaceful transition to not take place. America is an ideologically-divided nation. The ideology is aggressively set forth by varying adherents. Americans yell more at one another and, even in the age of tolerance, there is little tolerance to be found except for those who agree with one another. Years ago, when the citizens band (CB) radio was introduced, one of the call phrases was, “Is anybody listening?” Truthfully, most of us are so busy pressing our dogma that we rarely listen to anyone else.
Sadly, the racial divide has not abated. There are still those people, black and white, who make skin color a defining criteria for acceptance. Even in the church, this divide finds too much ground. For many in America, those indelible words of our founding fathers, “all men are created equal,” have failed to become a reality.
Yet, with so much division and diversity in this great land of ours, God has given America the strength and wisdom to hold the bonds of freedom, and Americans have refused to be destroyed by the divide. Every four or eight years, on January 20, Americans peacefully and orderly transfer the power of the presidency from one person to another and often from one party to another. The greatest nation in the world moves with great determination to stand together, even in the harshest of times, and give this country’s new leader the opportunity to make a difference in our nation and world.
This year is no different. President Obama has stepped aside and handed the reigns of this great nation to President Trump. Whether one voted for President Trump or worked at a fever pitch to elect his opponent, he is now America’s president. Without question, all Americans should desire that he serve us with wisdom. Standing at the beginning of his presidency, we should wish that he will become one of the finest presidents in history—time will tell.
But we are more than Americans. We are the people of God who have been blessed with the privilege of living in this remarkable nation. With all her flaws, America is the greatest nation on the earth and, perhaps, in world history. We, as the people of God, have a responsibility that no one else in America has. We are called upon, by Scripture, to be prayer partners with our president.
Some Christian leaders will work closely with the president. By every measure, it appears that Vice President Pence is a committed believer. Others who are in strategic positions within the Christian community will serve as advisors, and some will be prophets who will stand before President Trump to declare, “Thus saith the Lord!” But the majority of us will be neither. What we can be, and ought to be, are prayer watchmen on the walls who cry out to God regularly and fervently for President Trump.
So as obedient followers of our Lord, we should find our place in the prayer closet, lifting up the president in prayer. The President of the United States should know that Christians are calling out to God to show him the way of righteousness, reveal to him the path through the wilderness and provide him wisdom and discernment to make decisions that are best for the American people and decisions that will honor God.
We should pray for his spiritual condition. I do not know whether he is a believer or not, but I know the One who sees the heart of every man. Our prayer should be for God to do a mighty work in President Trump’s life and bring him into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. We can pray that the Holy Spirit would become his guide and his teacher.
In short, our prayers should be far more focused on his spiritual life than on the outward circumstances and the affairs of state. Prayer for President Trump should know no political boundary. We may identify as Republican or Democrat, but more importantly, we are the people of God—Americans, yes, but Christians above all. Thus, our president should be able to count on us to hold him before the throne of God.
