In 11 days, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in for another term, this time as the 47th President of the United States. I suspect some of you reading this will celebrate the moment, tuning in with excitement.
Others of you will be in lament, possibly choosing to ignore the inauguration. Some of you may have reluctantly voted for Trump, so you might have mixed emotions about Jan. 20 and the next four years, while others of you may not really care who is the president.
Whether you are happy, sad, mixed or indifferent, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are called to pray for President Trump and all who serve in office (national, state, local, etc.). At the beginning of the book of 1 Timothy, the Apostle Paul instructs Christians to pray for a nation’s leaders…
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:1-3, ESV).
Notice first that Paul calls Christians to pray for “all people.” Just one verse later (in verse 4), Paul tells us that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). So, if God’s heart is for all, our prayers should be for all.
Then notice that Paul specifically calls for Christ-followers to pray for those serving in “high positions.” And he does so for two reasons: #1… these leaders are part of “all people,” and #2… “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life.”
If you tend to vote Republican, it probably feels easy to pray for Trump, Gov. Kim Reynolds, and any politician with an ‘R’ behind their name, because you trust they will enact laws that will bring a “peaceful and quiet life.”
But if you tend to vote Democrat, you might find yourself frustrated, tempted to pray against your nation’s leaders, fearing their decisions will bring the opposite of a peaceful life. If this is you, I want you to notice that Paul doesn’t call you to accept everything our leaders do or decide. He simply calls you to pray for them and submit to them.
In 1 Peter 2:13-14, the Apostle Peter tells Jesus-followers to “[b]e subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him…” (echoing what Paul wrote in Romans 13:1-7). What is remarkable to me about Peter’s words is that the emperor of the Roman Empire at the time was Nero, who infamously hated Christians and killed them in horrific fashion (which later included Peter himself!). If Peter can submit in his heart to Nero (while completely disliking Nero’s decisions and actions), then Democrats can pray for Trump and Republicans can pray for Biden.
But as we submit to the leadership of our governing leaders and pray for them, we should also pray for ourselves, that we be the type of citizens God calls us to be and our nation, state and cities need. After all, you are part of “all people.” So pray for God to also grant you wisdom in how to honor and submit to your governing authorities in a manner worthy of Christ.
