Pastoral Prayer for the President Elect

King of the universe,

We come before you this morning both with concern and elation. In this past week, we elected a new president, and our nation has spoken decisively.

Lord, we understand that our elections are usually not decided by a wide margin, but by a narrow one, with a few million on one side or the other. While this reveals the winner, it also reveals that we are bitterly divided. Many of us are polar opposites on the issues, and we understand that the job of loving one another and agreeing to disagree becomes harder when the differences are so stark, but it also becomes more important.

Lord, for our president elect, we want to come before you in the spirit of Romans 13:7 and 1 Tim 2:1-2. We know that we are called to honor, respect, thank and submit to this man as your appointed agent over us. We also know that your law is higher than the law of any king or official or president, and that he is called to submit to you, to thank you, to give you respect, and to honor you as God.

We pray that you would preserve this man, that you would keep him from the pressure of compromise with regard to your law, that you would help him to be a champion of all that is right. We pray that he would display wisdom and justice, and that he would surround himself with those who are wise.

Lord we pray that as he deals with moral, fiscal, domestic and international problems that he would not shy away from commitments of the past, that he would stand up to evil, that he would be wise with regard to our nations resources and would protect the weak and vulnerable from tyranny and oppression.

We pray that as a husband, he would have time for his wife. We pray you would help her to love him, to honor him, to support him. We thank you for her commitment to her family, to motherhood, and for her concern to protect and nurture her family.

We pray that as a father, he would have time for his daughters. We pray you would shield them from the criticism and abuse and pressure which will be heaped on them from all sides. Protect them.

Lord, we believe that the election of this man says something about the state of our nation. For hundreds of years we have lived with the stigma of black slavery, a legacy of inequality, abuse and hate. We have been divided by our vision which shows us black and white. We pray that in some way that we can see through your color-blind eyes, your eyes which delight in the diversity of our skin as we celebrate unity as the children of Adam and Noah.

Lord, we know that a president is not a king. A president cannot save from sin. We need a king, and we thank you for your son. He is the only leader who can save us from our deepest need, salvation from our own sins and the sin of Adam. We confess our need before you this morning. We thank you for your loving gracious guidance, we pray for your merciful protection int he years to come.

We thank you for the grace you have given to this country. We pray that as you have blessed us, we may be a blessing to you. May you delight in our ways, and may we be great as we do works of goodness which reflect your will.

In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ the Righteous we pray. Amen.