Praying for the President

Almighty and everlasting God, we commend to your care President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania. Comfort them in their suffering, lend skill to all who attend them and bless the means used for their cure. Touch them with the healing presence of your Holy Spirit and draw them to even greater faith in you; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. – Adapted from the OSL website

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit and relieve thy sick servants President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon them with the eyes of thy mercy, comfort them with a sense of thy goodness; preserve them from the temptations of the enemy; and give them patience under their affliction. In thy good time, restore them to health, and enable them to lead the rest of their lives in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant that finally they may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. – BCP, p. 458

This morning, the Scripture verse which led the start of Morning Prayer was “Thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah 57:15).

We all live with divided hearts. We know the power of prayer, yet we are hesitant to pray. We know we are to pray for our leaders, yet we rarely remember to do so. We are preoccupied with many things, so we often fail to pray.

Yet we are a nation in great need. Evidence of God’s judgment is present in our land: fire, pestilence, violence, drought, earthquakes, and social unrest. If there was ever a time for people to pray for our President and our country, it is now.

This is a time for people of faith to unite in prayer, especially as we approach the upcoming election. I would urge you to make the time to pray. If you have been remiss in praying for the President and our country, repent of this oversight and carve out a regular time to pray each day.

Finally, our Presiding Bishop has also called us to pray. He writes, “At this particular moment I ask that all Episcopalians also pray for the President and First Lady, and all in the White House or Government who have been infected by this virus.”

Regardless of your politics, if you have said “Yes to Jesus”, you bear an obligation given to you by God to “pray for all who govern and hold authority in the nations of the world” (BCP, p. 387). Please, make the time to pray.

Thank you,

+Gregory O. Brewer
Bishop, Diocese of Central Florida