Congressman Trent Kelly: “Pray for our country.”
New Albany, MS– We are about to elect a US president who is despised by half the people in the country. Not since Lincoln in 1860 will we have elected a president who is as vehemently hated by so many. No matter who wins on November 8, there is an ominous chance that the winner will end up being the loser.
During the bitter depths of his unpopularity over Vietnam in the 1960s, I recall Lyndon Johnson proclaiming the simple, irrefutable fact: “I’m the only president you’ve got.” And so it will be with Clinton or Trump. Either is likely to be more reviled, at least in the short term, than LBJ or the now-sainted Abe.
Will we be able to swallow a little of our own bile and give the new president any respect, any honor at all? Will we give him/her any support, any chance at success as our leader?
The likelihood of a dangerously chaotic year or longer looms large.
While I am certainly not known for my piety and am, by the standards of many good people, a rather enthusiastic sinner, I do not deny the providential mysteries of faith and prayer.
Several months ago I heard Congressman Trent Kelly, a learned and wise soldier, speak to a group at the Union County Courthouse. He referenced the profoundly divisive presidential campaign, and he said simply, “Pray. Pray for our country.”
While I do not believe we can reasonably expect the Almighty to instantly square away a mess WE have allowed our leaders to create over several decades, I don’t have a better idea going forward than Trent Kelly’s.
Well, prayer isn’t a “short term” approach nor solution. It’s the long game approach. God said if we would repent and turn to Him, He would heal the nation. He said “Righteousness exalts a nation.” May we continue to pray, diligently, for our nation and all leaders. That He would call them to Himself in repentance and humbleness and heal our land.