Our responsibility
Today we witnessed the peaceful transition of power as Barack Obama took the oath of office as our 44th President. I must admit, I did not vote for President Obama nor did I particularly look forward to this day. But another sobering thought came to mind amidst all the pomp, ceremony and circumstance. He is now our nation’s President and I have a responsibility to pray for him.
Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.” I Timothy 2:1-3.
Remember that when Paul wrote this, the leader of the Roman Empire was far from being a compassionate conservative. Paul and the early Christians suffered persecution and lost their lives at the hands of Caesar and other government officials. And yet the exhortation was then and is now to pray for our leaders. This is good and acceptable in God’s sight for us to do.
If you didn’t support President Obama with your vote, you should lift him up with your prayer. Pray the Lord will give him the wisdom he will need to guide and lead our country. Pray the Lord will allow him to make morale decisions on the issues that are important to us. Pray the Lord will lead him to rule in a way that is pleasing to Him. We do not have to agree with his positions and policies, but as good citizens we should pray for him. And please don’t just pray for our President - pray for our country. Pray we will return to the spirit of our founding fathers. Pray we will return to the values that launched our nation’s liberty. This is our responsibility on this day and every day!
Rachel
January 21st, 2009 at 12:09 am #
Great post. I also don’t agree with what President Obama believes or what he may choose to do, but in God’s Word, God says to pray for our leaders and for our country. Today was definitely a historical mark.
RightMichigan.com
January 21st, 2009 at 8:15 am #
Pray for them yes… for their salvation and for wisdom. But as soon as you say amen pick up your political arms and get back into the battle. Social justice, the unborn and our Christian and patriotic responsibility demands we do our best every day to make sure this man’s tenure ends in four years.
–Nick
http://www.RightMichigan.com
Daniel Miller
January 21st, 2009 at 2:17 pm #
I have to agree with Nick. Yes, I’ll pray for President Obama. But I’ll never condone the murder of the unborn. I’ll pray that his heart will change, for sure. I’m rambling.
Daniel Miller
FrontLinesBlog.com
Andrew Biddinger
January 21st, 2009 at 6:27 pm #
I agree with you all! We must do the hard things as well as pray. Faith without works is dead. But I would say that without God’s power and blessing on our side, we are throwing sand off the side of a mountain. Pray and Do!