How to Pray for a (Former) President I Don’t Wanna Pray For
Heavenly Father, my King, my Lord, I pray for Donald Trump as he transitions out of this job where You placed him for the last four years. Thank You for the good that was done under his leadership, although I confess I need Your help to recognize them.
I also thank You that You have used these last four years to shine light on both our individual and collective sins which have been hidden in plain sight for too long. Let us not shy away from the harsh light that is needed for us to see where we have strayed, but rather welcome the light and let it guide us, all of us.
I ask that You protect him and his family as they endure the consequences of the decisions that were made and the actions that were taken. May he be led to a place of humility, so that he can marinate in the awareness of his fallibility, and then emerge as someone who seeks, and finds, forgiveness and redemption.
I pray for justice to prevail. That may involve civil judgement, or it may not. His days of having power, wealth, followers, and influence may be over, or they may not. All I ask is that the truth wins, and we all recognize it as such.
Remind me that his sins are his, and mine are mine. Never let me weigh them against each other, lest I cease to appreciate Your grace of which I am just as in need as he is.
Please help him to let go of the burden he carries, that must be so heavy he can’t move past the things in his life which seem to have created this terrible lack of self-worth. This need for constant attention and praise — no, worship. It makes me sad because I know that there is deep insecurity there. May he find the peace that can only come from resting in You, and may I never forget to be empathetic for such a broken man.
God, You love him as much as you love me. Jesus, You are his Savior just as You are mine. Holy Spirit, You offer the same power to him that You offer to me. There is a place in Heaven for him just as there is for me, and You long for both of us to be there. I know that I have been granted the gift of faith so that I can have the confidence that I will one day arrive. I don’t know if he has or not, but I do know that it is not for me to determine — it’s between him and You. And if that happens — if we both dwell in Your presence together one day when this life is over — then I will rejoice with him in a way I can’t even fathom right now. It is an image I can’t bring myself to desire right now, but it is one that intrigues me.
In Jesus’ precious name,
Amen
