Tentpegs

I know that when Paul wrote that we should pray for rulers and authorities,
he wasn’t ruled by nice people. Still, my trouble persists.

This is a serious problem for many people. I have wanted to stay free and clear of political comments for at least a season because I know that my politics are not those of some in my family and I have no desire to cause them pain or embarassment. Sadly, I am a man without a political party or a political champion. I disagreed with Bush at least 75% of the time and would have disagreed with McCain even more. I am still somewhat relieved that McCain didn’t win because he has the ability to make me cringe every time he speaks and I really don’t need the ulcers.

Obama, in his first week, did three things that made my heart break. I didn’t get mad; I was genuinely heartbroken. Going back on everything he said about guns in the campaign (most of which contradicted his voting record), he nominated Eric Holder who would be, upon confirmation, the most anti-gun Attorney General in our history. Then, on the day he was sworn in, Obama stiffed the recipients of the Medal of Honor and did not attend their ball — becoming the first president in history to fail to attend that function. That was a message a lot of military men got loud and clear. Then, within 48 hours of becoming president, he signed an executive order that will result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands more unborn babies, here and abroad. Those deaths will be paid for with our tax money. My family and some of my friends tell me that abortion is not the only issue — and they are right. However, how does health care, education, and infrastructure repair stack up? Do they cause 1.3 million baby deaths a year in the US (and how ever many more abroad)?

Still, I pray for him. Really. Sincerely.

Paul told us to pray for our leaders and it is right to do so. No matter what you think of Obama, on his worst day he is immeasurably better than any emperor Paul ever lived under. It makes no sense — nor is it realistic — to paint President Obama as if he were Nero or Domitian. He is not and will not become such.

So how do we pray — as the questioner asks — in faith for a man whose decisions upset or unsettle us? My prayers change from day to day, but here is one I have prayed recently and it contains much of the sentiment found in my daily prayers for our leaders. You can choose your own wording but you cannot choose NOT to pray. Prayer is our greatest and most powerful tool.

Our Father in Heaven, You are on the throne of the universe. Remind me of that. I tend to place myself on that throne, at least in my mind, and I need to be reminded that my ways are not your ways and that the things I think are important may not be important to you.

Father, you know that I am distressed for our country and for our world. That is nothing new; you know I have been very hard to please regardless of who my political leaders have been through the years! Forgive me for being so discontent. Forgive me for being small and petty. Help me to have Your mind on these matters… and on all matters. But, Father, lead me slowly. I am afraid I will break if you teach me what I need to learn too quickly.

I pray that you will lead our president, senators, congressman, and governors. Send your Holy Spirit to them. Have Him knock on their hearts and minds every day and every night until Your Word lives in them. Guide them in their decisions, Father, for those decisions have such incredible ramifications. People will have freedom or lose it, will live or will die, and will have peace or lose it — and it has always been such. Still, we ask that Your mind be their mind, your heart, their heart.

I pray for the unborn who have not yet felt the love of a mother’s arms. I pray for those who have been born who find themselves in homes full of neglect and pain. I pray for the hungry. I pray for the frightened. I pray for those who live in danger of evil men — in our country and in nations around the world. I pray that you would make me, and the rest of your church, engines of change so that babies will be born, loved, and allowed to grow and thrive, be educated, and be shown the way of the Lord in a safe and clean environment.

Change our leaders, Father, and change me for we are people of unclean lips and we live in a whirlpool of sin and despair that we created by our rebellion. I pray that our president and all the faceless bureaucracy that lords it over us will come to hear you. And I pray that I will come to hear you. For, Father, I cannot pray against my leaders without remembering the log that has been firmly stuck in my eyes for decades. Therefore, I will never pray against them. Instead, I will pray for grace for them and for our nation… and for me.

In the Name of Our Lord…