A Prayer for the New President

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”
~Romans 13:1-7

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Dr. Al Mohler has a wonderful prayer for our new president, here.  He sums it up with these thoughts:  

Christians are, first of all, citizens of a heavenly kingdom.  The followers of Christ know no allegiance of ultimate rank to any government or earthly authority.  Yet, the Bible clearly teaches that God has given us the gifts of law, government, and ruling authorities for our good.  We are instructed to pray for “rulers and all who have authority” and to be faithful in praying “so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God” (1 Timothy 2:2). 

 

As Barack Obama prepares to take the oath of office and become the 44th President of the United States, Christians should be thinking about how to pray for the new President.  I offer this prayer as a place to start, as we observe the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States together.