How I’m praying about Mr. Trump
by Elouise
Gingerly. Yet with more conviction than ever.
Everything I see ‘out there’ is a microcosm of my heart. Not always in the same form, but always about the same kinds of issues. My desire to change situations. My need for affirmation and affection. My love of power and control. My constant preoccupation with security and survival. And, I might add, my Greatness.
“Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” was never so difficult to pray as it is right now, given what we see and hear every day. This includes what I see and hear in my own thoughts and feelings.
Whether I look into my heart or see it on TV or on my iPad news feed, I’m reminded daily that I have limited power, control, security, and hope for survival.
My prayers don’t guarantee that justice will be done immediately. They do, however, help me stay focused on what really matters to the Most High God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the One who chose to become one of us. To show us how true leaders lead, and how true followers follow.
Below is a Psalm that clarifies exactly what is both needed and woefully rare in politics today. It also clarifies the outcome for leaders who fail to deliver the itemized goods.
In the Psalm, I take the term ‘god’ to mean rulers and leaders who must answer to the Most High God. I strongly suggest you read it out loud, with anger/distress/disbelief or whatever emotion you are able to draw upon from your own experience of injustice and wickedness.
Whatever you do, don’t try to dress it up all pretty and nice. Or explain it away. It’s truth, not fiction or a make-believe game about another time and place. It’s about now. With plenty of comfort and hard words for each of us.
Psalm 82, A psalm of Asaph. (NRSV, small edits by me)
The Most High God presides in the great assembly;
Rendering judgment among the ‘gods’:“How long will you defend the unjust
And show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the weak and the parentless;
Uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.“The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing,
They walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.“I said, ‘You are ‘gods’;
You are all children of the Most High.’
But you will die like mere mortals;
You will fall like every other ruler.”Rise up, Most High, judge the earth,
For all the nations are your inheritance.
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 22 February 2018
Image found at www.provencio.com
Faith can move mountains…. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it can! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good words, Elouise. They are “ponderable” and “actionable.” Keep ’em coming…Thank you!
LikeLike
Amen! Praying Psalm 82 with you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙏🏻
LikeLike
❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙏🏻
LikeLike
Thank you Eloise.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙏🏻
LikeLike
I commented on a friends facebook page the other day. I wrote very briefly my thoughts about the 2nd So I’ve reached a new high on international media platforms.
I wonder if it ever comes to the point where the rest of the world just gives up on America?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations! (On reaching a new high…) Sadly, we’re not the answer the world’s woes. I wonder how many ‘refugees’ have fled the USA in the last year. As for giving up on America, the next election cycle will tell the truth–not necessarily about us as individuals, but about the determination of this nation to adhere to or abandon its vision. We’ve already distorted it beyond recognition when it comes to firearms.
I pray the current upheaval over the latest mass murder of students will yield a new crop of young women and young men who don’t sell out to the pay-to-play mentality. (Your support for our money/backing.) We’re in need of our friends out there/over there/down under — and languishing under a President who doesn’t know how to govern wisely or with integrity, yet has a loyal base of people who continue to support him. All of which you already know….Thanks for listening!
LikeLike
Actually the actions of the students does give rise to hope and then the idea of have teachers carrying concealed weapons, and the comments of the two NRA people dashes those hopes again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, we have at least our share of off-the-cuff quick solutions that will only make things worse. No one seems to have the backbone to say No to the NRA and its $$$. Though a small number of businesses are now severing their ties to the NRA. The sight of ‘responsible’ adults throwing their ideas around (without doing/saying anything that might jeopardize their well-funded positions of power) is tragic.
LikeLike
Hi!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this issue–it’s a tricky one. In times like these, it is so tempting to live only in bitterness and anger, forgetting that God still has a plan. He wants to hear our frustrations and anger, and He wants us to turn to Him when our leaders are failing. On our own, we can’t bring justice or salvation. But the God who is in us certainly can!
LikeLike
Hi, Celia!
Thanks for your comment. Yes, it’s tricky yet not without hope when we trust God to do the right thing. I’m so grateful for Psalms that give us just the right words and outlook when things are grim. And for other times, too!
LikeLike
That would be a complete waste of time even for those with belief ingos, POTUS thinks he is god!
LikeLike