THIS IS THE KIND OF BIBLICAL PRAYER THAT GOD HONORS...a prayer for President Obama by Dr. Al Mohler

updated

The Problem with Pastor Rick's Warren Prayer

There has been much posted around the blogosphere about Pastor Rick Warren's ecumenical prayer yesterday. Did he invoke the name of Jesus as he promised? Barely; and with all the conviction that playing politics with God could muster, Mr. Purpose Driven watered-down his prayer, tickling the ears of Washington's most illustrious dignitaries, dolling out the spiritual pablum suited to satisfy religious leaders of postmodernty, and craving the approval of the massive hoi polloi. Pastor Warren simply forgot that prayer is not about us, it is all about Him; it not first and foremost about our needs, but about His glory. IOW, Pastor Warren forgot to be a pastor (2 Tim. 4:1-5).

For example: Pastor Warren states that only the Father has created all things and all things exist only because of Him. It is true that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..." But the Holy Spirit through the superintending instrument of the Apostle Paul and the writer of Hebrews has also clearly stated in Col. 1:15-18 AND Heb. 1:1-3 that

"by Him [Jesus] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." 

"but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power."

OR when Pastor Warren calls Jesus by the Muslim name 'Isa that refers not to the perfect, sinless, resurrected God-Man of the Bible, but to the impotent, deficient Jesus of the Quran? OR when Pastor Warren tries to apply the Shema to all peoples of all nations of the earth?; OR when Pastor Warren uses the repetitive phrase of "compassionate and merciful one" from the Quran as the opening to his prayer confusing that with the reality of James 5:11? OR that God loves everybody equally, just as they are, absent of the regenerative power of the gospel? OR, the most risible of statements, that "Martin Luther King is shouting from heaven with a great cloud of witnesses" because of Obama being elected as President? Does Pastor Warren actually believe that the saints who are in heaven cease from shouting "worthy is the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the earth..." - the eternal praise due to Christ Jesus the Lord alone to actually shout with all the redeemed from all the ages past shouts of joy and praise because of Barack Obama was being sworn in to the office of the Presidency of the United States of America? And that somehow a righting of racial equality to the highest political office in the land now trumps divine glory of the One-Triune God?

Blasphemous and balderdash!

The Blessing of Dr. Al Mohler's Prayer

But thank the Lord for a man of God like Dr. Al Mohler who is not afraid to speak the truth unashamedly and will not play politics with prayer or God's Word. I would greatly encourage you to read the following prayer below that he has written. It is masterful; biblical; compassionate; truthful; uncompromised; practical; and worshipful. May it encourage you each day to pray for our new President with humility, charity, truthfulness, and grace - and to do so knowing you are praying by the authority of heaven.

Thank you Al for being one evangelical leader and Christian public figure who fears the approval of God more than seeks the applause of men.

Steve 

Roms. 13:1-7; 1 Tim. 2:1-2

"Our Father, Lord of all creation, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: We pray today with a sense of special urgency and responsibility. We come before you to pray for our new President, Barack Obama, and for all those in this new administration who now assume roles of such high responsibility.

We know that you and you alone are sovereign; that you rule over all, and that you alone are able to keep and defend us. We know that our times are in your hands, and that "the king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord" [Proverbs 21:1]. Our confidence is in you and in you alone. We come before you as a people who acknowledge our constant need for your provision, wisdom, and protection.

Father, we pray today for Barack Obama as he takes office as President of the United States. We pray that you will show the glory of your name in our times and in these days, confounding the wisdom of the wise, thwarting the plans of the arrogant, and vindicating those who do justice and practice righteousness.

Father, we pray with thanksgiving for the gift of government and the grace of civic order. Thank you for giving us rulers and for knowing our need for laws and ordered life together. Thank you for this nation and the blessings we know as its citizens. Thank you for freedoms unprecedented in human history. We understand that these freedoms come with unprecedented opportunities.

Lord, we pray with thanksgiving for the joy and celebration reflected on millions of faces who never expected to look to the President of the United States and see a person who looks like themselves. Father, thank you for preserving this nation to the moment when an African-American citizen will take the oath of office and become our President. Thank you for the hope this has given to so many, the pride emerging in hearts that had known no such hope, and the pride that comes to a people who have experienced such pain at the hands of fellow citizens, simply because of the color of their skin. Father, we rejoice in every elderly face that reflects such long-sought satisfaction and in every young face that expresses such unrestrained joy. May this become an open door for a vision of race and human dignity that reflects your glory in our differences, and not our corruption of your gift.

Father, protect this president, we pray. We pray that you will surround this president and his family, along with all our leaders, with your protection and sustenance. May he be protected from evil acts and evil intentions, and may his family be protected from all evil and harm.

We pray that the Obama family will be drawn together as they move into the White House, and that they will know great joy in their family life. We are thankful for the example Barack and Michelle Obama have set as parents. Father, protect those precious girls in every way -- including the protection of their hearts as they see their father often criticized and as he is away from them on business of state. May their years in the White House bring them all even closer together.

Father, we pray for the safety and security of this nation, even as our new president settles into his role as Commander in Chief. We know that you and you alone can be our defense. We do not place our trust in horses or chariots, and we pray that you will give this president wisdom as he fulfills this vital responsibility.

Father, grant him wisdom in every dimension of his vast responsibility. Grant him wisdom to deal with a global financial crisis and with the swirling complex of vexing problems and challenges at home and abroad. May he inspire this nation to a higher vision for our common life together, to a higher standard of justice, righteousness, unity, and the tasks of citizenship.

Father, we pray that you will change this president's heart and mind on issues of urgent concern. We are so thankful for his gifts and talents, for his intellect and power of influence. Father, bend his heart to see the dignity and sanctity of every single human life, from the moment of conception until natural death. Father, lead him to see abortion, not as a matter of misconstrued rights, but as a murderous violation of the right to life. May he come to see every aborted life as a violation of human dignity and every abortion as an abhorrent blight upon this nation's moral witness. May he pledge himself to protect every human life at every stage of development. He has declared himself as an energetic defender of abortion rights, and we fear that his election will lead directly to the deaths of countless unborn human beings. Protect us from this unspeakable evil, we pray. Most urgently, we pray that you will bring the reign of abortion to an end, even as you are the defender of the defenseless.

Father, may this new president see that human dignity is undermined when human embryos are destroyed in the name of medical progress, and may he see marriage as an institution that is vital to the very survival of civilization. May he protect all that is right and good. Father, change his heart where it must be changed, and give him resolve where his heart is right before you.

Father, when we face hard days ahead -- when we find ourselves required by conscience to oppose this president within the bounds of our roles as citizens -- may we be granted your guidance to do so with a proper spirit, with a proper demeanor, and with persuasive arguments. May we learn anew how to confront without demonizing, and to oppose without abandoning hope.

Father, we are aware that our future is in your hands, and we are fully aware that you and you alone will judge the nations. Much responsibility is now invested in President Barack Obama, and much will be required. May we, as Christian citizens, also fulfill what you would require of us. Even as we pray for you to protect this president and change his heart, we also pray that your church will be protected and that you will conform our hearts to your perfect will.

Father, we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, the ever-reigning once and future King, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He and he alone can save, and his kingdom is forever. Above all, may your great name be praised. Amen."

Christians are, first of all, citizens of a heavenly kingdom. The followers of Christ know no allegiance of ultimate rank to any government or earthly authority. Yet, the Bible clearly teaches that God has given us the gifts of law, government, and ruling authorities for our good. We are instructed to pray for "rulers and all who have authority" and to be faithful in praying "so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God" [1 Timothy 2:2].

As Barack Obama prepares to take the oath of office and become the 44th President of the United States, Christians should be thinking about how to pray for the new President. I offer this prayer as a place to start, as we observe the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States together. -Dr. Al Mohler

TO THE GOD OF OUR MANY UNDERSTANDINGS...Gay Bishop offers prayer to a god of his own creation

Psalm 50:21-22 

21 These things you have done, and I have been silent;

you thought that I was just like you.

But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God,

lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!

Isaiah 5:20-21 

20 Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,

and shrewd in their own sight!

A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama

By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire

Opening Inaugural Event
Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
January 18, 2009

"Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

(May I encourage you, please pray earnestly for Bishop Robinson that the true God of the Bible would grant him godly sorrow leading to repentance from sin, genuine saving faith to believe, and the grace to confess and know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.)

HISTORY OF INAUGURATION PRAYERS...a necessity or pomp and circumstance?

Here is a list of past Inauguration Prayers dated from present back to FDR. It is an interesting read to view the content of each of the prayers.

In like manner, Dan Phillips at Pyromaniacs had an excellent idea by inviting some Christian leaders to post what they would pray if asked to do so; or if they would even agree to do so given the current controversy surrounding President-elect Obama's inauguration. Only two have responded so far: Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile and Dr. John Frame with hopefully more to come.

Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile gives some very helpful and practical content and conviction counsel if he were asked to pray. He would "pray through the gospel." I really appreciate that. Dr. Frame responded with more the generic typical content that has marked most of the past inauguration prayers. Needless to say, the call to repentance for our nation and its leaders should mark an inauguration prayer this week. However, as Dr. Frame's prayer typifies, most evangelical leaders today lack the courage and spiritual conviction to risk name, station in life, and platform for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel.

One thing that is vitally important, our nation needs much prayer; our leaders need much prayer; and the church in America needs prayer for revival and Reformation. Amen?

The Cross Waves Higher Than the Flag,
Steve
1 Tim. 2:1-4