The Christian’s Duty to Pray for the Next President
Whoever that may be
In 2008, I wrote a newspaper column about the Christian’s responsibility to pray for President-elect Barack Obama. I knew that some of my readers were disappointed that Mr. Obama had been elected. Nevertheless, whether his election was a source of delight or dismay, I made it clear to Christian readers that it was incumbent upon them to pray for him.
A few years later, I was back at it, this time urging Christians to pray for Donald Trump. In 2020, I was playing the same tune, only this time it was for President-elect Joe Biden.
By 2020, I had written what amounts to the same column for every new president elected during the previous four elections. It occurred to me that long-time readers might grow bored with this and not even bother reading the column. So, I came up with a juicy title: “What Should Christians Do about President Biden?” The answer, of course, was that Christians should pray for him.
The title was a mistake. I got a lot of angry mail, mostly from people who didn’t bother to read the article and assumed that I was writing to criticize Mr. Biden and raise hostility toward him. All of those articles elicited negative comments, but the column about President Biden stirred up a hornet’s nest.
And here I am again, writing the same column, telling Christians it is their duty to pray for the president. But for the first time, I am writing the article before election day. I have no idea who will win. The race is neck and neck. But whether we have a President-elect Harris or President-elect Trump makes no difference. Christians are commanded to pray for their leader.
I can anticipate the response of some of my readers: “Donald Trump is not my leader!” “Kamala Harris will never be my leader!”
Sorry, that reply doesn’t cut it. St. Paul urged Christians “…first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority...” He wrote this to his coworker, the man he had mentored, St. Timothy. He did not urge prayer for nice kings but not others, but “for all those in authority.”
“But,” a determined critic might respond, “Kamala Harris, who defies biblical morality by promoting transgenderism and abortion, was not in authority then.” Or “Paul did not have in mind an arrogant, high-handed leader like Donald Trump, who poses an existential threat to democracy.”
I admit that Rome was not led by a Kamala Harris or a Donald Trump, but it was led by Nero Claudius Caesar, whose moral failures included matricide, murder, and marital unfaithfulness. Nero threatened his political rivals, intent on “eliminating the ills of the previous regime.” And he initiated a propaganda campaign against Christians which led to their deaths in staggering numbers, including both Sts. Paul and Peter.
And yet Paul, writing from prison, urged Christians to pray for all those in authority, including the king. But how does one pray for a leader whose character is flawed or whose policies are harmful? Should one pray for God to give them a short life and take them to judgment quickly?
There is a better way to pray. We can ask God to give the next president a “discerning heart to govern … and to distinguish between right and wrong,” as King Solomon prayed for himself. We can pray for “discernment in administering justice” – a prayer that pleased God – so that we may live “peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
We should pray for blessing for the next president, whoever that turns out to be. We should ask God to grant our future president discernment and wisdom. There is, however, another side to this. We may also pray the scriptural prayers of lament and protest – Psalm 10 is an example – that have a bearing on politics. As Christopher J. H. Wright put it, “I see no contradiction in both praying for our rulers and yet also praying against them.”
Whatever our prayers, they must rise above the plane of politics. Politics and politicians are not the most important thing. Whoever our next president is, and perhaps despite who our next president is, God’s kingdom will advance, Christ’s authority will triumph, and his people will be safe in God’s hands. If we believe this, we will be able to obey the biblical mandate and pray for our next president, whoever that may be.
