A Letter That I Wish I Would Have Written

It has been a number of days since I've had the time to sit and write a short post. It seems that just reading the many blogs that I read and keeping up with my e-mail has taken all of the computer time that I have. It has been a busy, but enjoyable week.

As one could imagine, my inbox has been filled with political forwards. Most of them are hateful and inaccurate or plain old outright lies. It's too bad that the truth has little place in politics. Among all of the political horse manure I ran across a letter that I wish I had written. I hope that Christian people can join this author and understand what he is saying and what he is promising to do for the President...no matter who it is.

Here is the letter:

Dear Mr. President:

I do not yet know your name, but in a few days you will be elected to our nation’s highest office, and become the leader of the free world at the end of a long and engaging election season.

I wanted you to know that I will be praying for you. Not praying against you, or about you, but for you. That is both my pledge, and my obligation as a follower of Christ. In the Bible, the apostle Paul writes, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

And I will do so with a full and undivided heart.

I will be praying for you from my position as a father of four children, and God willing, future grandchildren; that you will have the foresight to think through what your decisions will mean for them as the next generation.

I will be praying for you as a citizen of the United States; that you will seek wisdom from God and humbly submit yourself to His leadership as you lead our nation through economic turbulence, domestic divides, and cultural diversities.

I will be praying for you as a member of the global population; that you will work with other well-intentioned leaders from around the world as we face environmental challenges, wars and rumors of wars, and humanitarian crises.

And finally, I will be praying for you as a Christian; that you will encourage faith in God to flourish and never allow deeply held spiritual convictions to become a matter of ridicule, instead encouraging everyone to grant them a respectful hearing, even if they go against the political policy of your party.

It is being widely spoken that the next president will inherit more that needs immediate attention than any other president in recent memory. As a result, it has been a hard-fought and hotly contested election. Yes, I will vote, and I do not know if you will be the one for whom I cast my ballot. But following November 4^th, all that must be set aside no matter how deep the divides may be.

So while I do not know if you will be the candidate I voted for, I do know that no matter your name, I will support you in one way without question.

I will be praying for you.

James Emery White

Sources

Scripture reference: I Timothy 2:1-2, New International Version.

For an online community committed to praying for our leaders that is both non-political and non-partisan, see www.presidentialprayerteam.org.

This is from the site Serious Times Update and you can subscribe to receive regular postings.

More about my week in another post.

John