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.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
--1 Timothy 2:1-4
So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek.
And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed;
and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it.
And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side;
and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
--Exodus 17:10-13
Extremely intense and relentless spiritual warfare -- that’s how we really need to see the work of praying and interceding for the president of our nation. We need to pray for him and all other leaders as well. We need to see the critical importance of the church in prayer doing kingdom work for God.
Why is this so important? 1 Timothy 2 clearly and directly tells us to pray for “all men, for kings and all who are in authority…” (v. 2). Donald Trump is the President of the United States. We need to pray faithfully for him every day in obedience to the Word of God. If believers spent just a portion of the time praying for him that many spend complaining about and criticizing the president, then much more good would be accomplished.
The opposition to this president is intense, and much of it doesn’t even make a lot of sense – at least not in the natural. The media, the opposing political party, the political party that he is in -- it appears that opposition is coming against him from almost every side. It seems there are those who don’t like him no matter what he does.
But when you look at it for what it is, it makes a lot of sense from a spiritual perspective and from a spiritual warfare perspective.
The president is far from perfect, just like all the rest of us. That’s not even a question here. Yet Trump has made it a point to commit to carrying out certain mandates – a number of which line up with the counsel from the Word of God.
His words and actions have been strongly against abortion, which is consistent with the command not to murder (Exodus 20:13). He also seems to make decisions that are genuinely in the best interest of our nation as a whole (1 Kings 3:9). He has officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, showing adherence to Psalm 122:6: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee.”
These are the kinds of accomplishments that make him very unpopular with the Devil and the kingdom of darkness., so the onslaught of opposition continues.
Yet the work of the Church is clear. We are called to pray for our president and the other leaders in authority. We need to be consistent, fervent, and persevering in prayer. The president's success is directly connected to how faithfully the Church prays for him (see Exodus 17:8-13).
Let’s be about our Father’s business. Let’s keep the president lifted up in intense prayer every day.
Editor's Note: This originally ran here on The Stand last year and is being reprinted as Franklin Graham has called for prayer for President Trump Sunday, June 2, 2019. Sign the petition to show your support and make sure to pray.
