Into the Fire

Passionate thoughts about the world of writing and the Power of God

***Warning***Rant—of sorts—to follow***

(This rant has the propensity to alienate some of you, and I really don’t want to do that.

Then why in the world are you putting this out there for public consumption?

Well, because it’s a big deal to me.

Oh, and that makes it important: why?

No reason.

Then what?!

Perhaps someone can relate. Someone who won’t be offended and will understand where I’m comin’ from and maybe even agree.

And if they don’t?

I guess I hope they won’t read this. Wait. No. I hope they can realize there is serious and honest and intense opposition to the politically correct response.

It’s a risk then.

Yeah, pretty much.

Go for it, I guess.

I am.)

***Here goes . . . ***

I realize the new president needs prayer. I do. But I will not give in to how some Christians are suggesting (demanding) and expecting we should pray. Can’t do it. The reasons quite frankly are obvious: I am opposed to his favorable stance on abortion, I am opposed to his stance on the bail-out, socialistic approach to economics, I am opposed to his stance on manmade climate changes, and I cannot think of one single thing in his repertoire of positions that I am in favor of. Not even one. I dread his term as the President of the United States, and everyday I have to remind myself that God is greater than all my fears, and that He is the true leader of all things.

Therefore, when I pray for the man, I will pray for his true salvation and that the Holy Spirit would penetrate his heart to bring real change to his mindset. If that happens, our president will be a sound leader. Not infallible, not necessarily great because if he leads according to a godly perspective he will incur the wrath of a large portion of those who elected him. I will pray that God will bring a deep and heavy conviction upon his soul when he advances the cause of killing babies in the womb. I will pray that somehow he would be confounded when he attempts to take this country down and make it into a government-beholding socialist nation full of people who desire to depend on politicians to make their lives cushy. I will pray that somehow, some way he will rise up to the challenge of keeping this nation’s military strong and able to defend itself against evil powers that seek to destroy it.

You see, our new president stands for all that I’m completely opposed to, and he is opposed to all that I consider valuable and necessary for a country to be great. Therefore, I cannot pray that he succeeds with his agenda because I think it’s wrong. Terribly wrong.

I will pray for him.

Father, you created Barack Obama. You know his heart. You know his mind. You know when and how each of us contracts our sinful ideas and how we put them into practice. It is our nature to do so. Right now I pray you would bring this man to his knees in search of your direction and your direction alone. I pray you would change his heart. I pray you would show him where he is wrong and how he can make those areas right. I pray you would speak to him in a way he can understand and help him to clarify in his mind what is good and what is evil. I pray he would open his heart to receive from you, that you would be able to give him the insight to real truth. I pray you would give him discernment to spot corruption within his own heart and in those of others. I pray you would protect him and his family from evil. I ask it all in the Name of Jesus, Amen.

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6 responses to “Wednesday Woe”

  1. dayle Avatar

    I think, like most things, this is an issue of semantics. I don’t think most people are saying what they mean. I think those of us on the conservative side anway, mean: I hope he’s successful in the sense that his own policies don’t hurt the country and he sees the reality of defending this country and curtails his pre-concieved notions to it.
    I do pray for the President to be successful – but I mean by my definition, not his. We certainly don’t want him to fail on the level of Carter. In other words, I don’t want his stated policies to flourish, but I do want him to be successful in the sense that no harm is done.
    p.s. Above all, I pray for his safety. May God watch over him and his family.

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  2. Nicole Avatar

    Thank you, Dayle, for your comments.

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  3. Rebecca LuElla Miller Avatar

    Well, it looks like TypePad fixed the problem and I can now post a comment, though I suspect I might have been one of those you hoped wouldn’t read this post, Nicole. 😉
    I understand where you’re coming from. I felt much as you did when President Clinton was elected. I felt sick!
    But two years later, Republicans took over Congress and I realized that likely would not have happened if President Bush, Sr. had been re-elected. In other words, one election does not determine all that much, even today, because of the balance of power the framers of our Constitution conceived.
    My biggest concern, and perhaps this should be our central focus for prayer, is who will be nominated as judges.
    But the bottom line is what you already said. God is in control. He isn’t sitting in heaven scratching his head, wondering how such a think slipped by him unnoticed. He hasn’t forgotten the unborn, or the immigrant, or the poor, or the lost.
    How this all works, I don’t know. But Scripture, not people here, tells us to pray for our government leaders. Not that they will succeed in the wrongdoing they intend, surely. Not for their well-being despite their sin. But as you say, for their change of heart, for God to work His ways through their decisions.
    I might also add, I think it is imperative that we as believers stop carping at our President (not saying you are, but some sites are still proclaiming that he is illegitimate because he’s not a natural born citizen). What that does is make us look small and contentious. It’s like basketball players who complain to the refs on every call. The refs stop listening or else they T them up.
    If we care about President-elect Obama listening to what we have to say about the unborn, I think we should say it to him respectfully. After all, he said in his acceptance speech that he heard us (those who did not vote for him), and would be our President too.
    I may not agree on much he says, but I am happy to know that he is interested in doing what he thinks is good for the nation. I’ve been through a lot of administrations I didn’t vote for, and only one made me feel as if he wasn’t my President. If President-elect Obama follows through on this one thing, his term in office will be an improvement over the ’90s.
    Becky

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  4. Nicole Avatar

    Yay! I’m glad Typepad persevered–as did you–and you can now comment. I’m grateful for that.
    You know, Becky, there’s been talk of where he was born, racism, etc. All I’ve ever seen this man as is a politician with whom I staunchly disagree. His color, age, style of dress, etc.: who cares? It’s his platform, and I mean all of it, that has appalled me. And for that I see no “hope” in all the “change”.
    My hope is in the Lord, and I must trust in Him to hear the prayers of the saints who will pray according to His will.

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  5. Jessica Thomas Avatar

    I feel your pain. I must admit, I have shed a few tears since he was elected, mostly for the babies who have died, and who will die. I have questioned (in my mind and publicly), those who are so opposed to the deaths in Iraq, but then brush off the abortion issue as tho it were nothing. At the most, they might say, “It’s a terrible thing, but the woman has the right to choose.” It really makes me want to scream, “Are you mad?!” I even went thru a period of pondering whether Obama is evil because of his stance (I admit it). But, if I’m being honest with myself, I used to be pro choice, too, until slowly the veil was lifted off of my eyes, so that now the thought of abortion literally makes my stomach feel sick. So, no, I do not believe Obama is “evil”. (No more than the rest of us, anyway.) In fact, I believe he is very well-meaning. To some extent, he knows not what he does, which is kinda scary considering he is president. That’s why I think your prayer for him is quite appropriate. In general, I think it is better to pray for God to intervene and change hearts than to pray for any one political agenda, anyway. Only God knows what is truly best.

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  6. Nicole Avatar

    So very well said, Jessica. Thank you for you comments.
    I’m convinced that the politicians who ranted about the loss of lives in Iraq while heralding the rights of abortion really objected to the war because they resented spending the money over there instead of here on their socialist programs. Most, not all, of the people who were against the war had misconceptions about its purpose and really did care about the soldiers who died to protect our freedom and those of others.

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