--"Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
--King Solomon ending his prayer.
2 Chronicles 6:40
Is President Obama going to pray tonight? I would love to know what his prayer would be. It's getting close to 10PM as I type this, so bedtime is coming soon for him I guess. Is prayer on his agenda?
It got me thinking about heads of state praying, so I went to 2 Chronicles 6, where King Solomon prays during the dedication of the temple. Verse 13 says that he knelt down before the crowd, lifted his hands to heaven and began praying. Humble.
Solomon's prayer is interesting. He mentions different scenarios that the Israelite people might find themselves in: victory or defeat in war, economic trouble, natural disaster, personal failure (sin), and prosperity. After each scenario, he repeats the same words: "then hear from heaven and...". It's kinda like the chorus of a song.
The entire prayer goes like this:
When (insert scenario), we will pray to you, then hear from heaven and.....
I counted this refrain 8 times in the prayer. That's a lot. Smart people call it a recuring motif.
What's the point? To me, Solomon is basically saying to God "please pay attention to me/us". "God, I need to know that you are aware of my situation, my needs. Please listen to me. In whatever situation I'm in, I need to know that you are there."
It reminds of of my son Nathanael looking my way every now and then, seemingly just to make sure that I'm there. That I'm aware of his presence. Somehow, just knowing daddy is around makes him more secure.
I wonder if Obama is singing Solomon's song tonight? (no, not that one, though that one might be appropriate after he and Michelle pray). No, I'm thinking about the song, or prayer, mentioned above.
"God, as I make decisions about this economy, be with me.
As I try to bring the parties together, be with me. (at least I hope he tries to do that)
As I address the problems in the middle east, as I stand face to face with Vlad Putin,
be with me.
As I sleep next to this briefcase that holds the codes of our nuclear bombs, be with me."
I hope his prayers look something like that.
Well I started by wondering if Obama was going to pray tonight. As I was typing this I felt God saying "Jim, I'll worry about Obama, are YOU going to pray tonight?"
I appreciate the transparency in your blog. I was encouraged that Obama stuck to his convictions when he decided not to cave in to pressure to replace Pastor Rick Warren. It demonstrated to me that Obama is a man of convictions, regardless if the heat comes from the left or right side of the aisle. It also demonstrated to me that 2 people do not have to see eye to eye on every political issue, yet can work together for the common good of the country.
ReplyDeleteJust so you know, I think that all presidents pray. At some point it has to all get bigger than you, and you have no choice but to say, GOD HELP ME! I don't know OBAMA, so I have no clue if he prays, but I AM PRAYING FOR HIM.
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