Warfare Wednesday

"Vindicate me, O LORD,
         For I have walked in my integrity.
         I have also trusted in the LORD;
         I shall not slip.
 ² Examine me, O LORD, and prove me;
         Try my mind and my heart.
 ³ For Your loving kindness is before my eyes,
         And I have walked in Your truth."  Psalm 26:1-3

Happy December morning!  The snow is lightly falling this morning, and although I'm not crazy about it, the change in the seasons is always a reminder to me that God is ever-faithful.  And He is ever-faithful to hear our prayers as we take time each week to pray for government leaders and officials.  God hears our prayers when we pray for protection over President Obama and his family.  God hears His people cry out for mercy and for God to show Himself and His glory to President Obama.

A few weeks ago, Abigail and I did a study on President Lincoln for school.  We really enjoyed learning more about this president.  He was such a good man, though often misunderstood.  In fact, when he first took office as president, he hadn't even won the popular vote.  He ran against two other candidates, and combined they had more votes than him, but since he had the most electoral votes, President Lincoln took office.  He took office at the beginning of the Civil War, and while we may not be in a civil war in our country, we have been in the midst of a "political war".  As we read more and more about President Lincoln, I couldn't help but see lots of parallels to President Obama.  There was so much trash talk about President Lincoln by the people who didn't vote for him- and the same is going on today with President Obama.

Shortly after President Lincoln was elected to a second term, he was assassinated.  Two weeks before his assassination, he'd had a dream that he died in office and the whole country was in mourning.  He didn't heed the warning, and said that he wasn't going to increase his security because if someone really wanted to kill him, they would find a way.  Two weeks later he was dead and a country grieved the loss of a great man.  The praying people let down President Lincoln, and I suspect it was because many of them hadn't voted for him.  The let their personal feelings get in the way of the fact that despite the fact that they voted for the other guy, Abraham Lincoln was their president.  He was the president of The United States of America, and instead of trash-talking him, they should have offered him respect and prayers.

And here we are now.  I know many of the praying population did not vote for this president, but that doesn't change the fact that Barack Obama is President of The United States of America.  He has the job, we should respect that, and regardless of whether or not we agree with his politics, we need to pray!! We need to pray for this man, that he would seek Godly counsel, and we need to pray that those who give him bad counsel are removed from his presence.  We need to pray for divine protection for him at all times, because there are many, many adversaries who would love to see this country divided by removing the president from office.  And we need to pray for his family.  For his wife, First Lady Michelle, and his two daughters, Sasha and Malia.  It cannot be easy for his girls to grow up in a fish bowl and have their every move open to the American people.  We need to pray for peace and love for their household, because love always wins!

I know sometimes I maybe sound like a broken record, but here we are two years into this presidency, and people are still whining about the president.  God doesn't listen to our whines.  He doesn't listen to our complaints, and in fact, He probably dislikes hearing them.  What He wants to hear are our prayers.  He wants to hear our prayers for peace among our elected leaders.  He wants to hear our prayers for President Obama to focus on our alliance with the nation of Israel.  He wants to hear our prayers for protection for the first family.   I pray this morning that President Obama will walk in the very Truth that is spoken about in these verses in Psalms.  As we begin the last month of the year 2010, may the year close out with truth, understanding, and Godly wisdom in the White House.  As we look ahead to a new year and a hope for the new beginnings, may 2011 be a year where our country truly begins to understand that we are truly One Nation, Under God.