A Time for Prayer in America
By Tom Gilbreath
The election is over. A bit more than half the country celebrates, while others mourn. Not since the civil war have divisions run so deep. Many prayed intensely about the election. Don’t stop now. Keep on praying!
Monday, January 20, 2025, is Inauguration Day in America. Well before then, President-elect Trump must put together an Administration and a strategy for carrying out his goals in leading the country. The decisions he and his team make now — especially personnel decisions — will have enormous ramifications for America’s future, and the future of the world.
Yes, God has everything under control. He does not need our advice on how to run things. Even so, He asks us to bring our petitions to Him. He not only welcomes our prayers, He commands them!
During the Obama Administration, Hal said on The Hal Lindsey Report to pray for the President. Some people wrote in to the ministry and said, “I am not going to pray for that man.” Some people feel that way about Donald Trump today. If you don’t like a particular president, or you disagree with that president’s policies, should you still pray for that person?
On a program not long after that, Hal said again to pray for the President, but this time made even more clear the scriptural reasons for doing so. He emphasized 1 Timothy 2:1-2. “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”
At the time those words were written, a man named Nero ruled the Roman Empire. Nero was one of the most depraved men who ever lived. In an article for ListVerse, Patrick Ryan wrote, “He poisoned, beheaded, stabbed, burned, boiled, crucified and impaled people. He often raped women and cut off the veins and private parts of both men and women…. Thousands of Christians were starved to death, burned, torn by dogs, fed to lions, crucified, used as torches and nailed to crosses.”
If first century Christians could pray for Nero, we can pray for President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump. Maybe you don’t like their policies. Then pray that God grant them understanding. Maybe you think one or the other is too old. That’s all the more reason to pray for them. One is scheduled to lead our government, including our military, until January 20th of next year. The other is scheduled to take charge on that day and for the next four years.
Even if you see one or the other of these men as an enemy, Jesus admonished prayer. In Matthew 5:44, He said, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
The world is coming apart at the seams. There were terrible attacks on Jews in Amsterdam last week. China threatens all of Asia. Iran still threatens Israel and the Middle East. True holocausts are taking place in Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda, Pakistan, and Ukraine. President Biden and then President Trump must deal with these situations and more, hopefully as peacemakers. So, pray for them.
And when you pray for them, you are also praying for yourself, your family, and your friends. 1 Timothy 2:2 gives a great reason to pray for those in authority — “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”
