We all have to pray for Donald Trump as the next president. Here’s why | Opinion

As we come to the close of 2024, I am praying that we, as a nation, as a community, have closed the door on the strife and division that permeated our land throughout the year. A new year is just over the hill. With its coming, we have the blessed opportunity to start over. We have another chance to make some wrongs right.

As we look forward to the new year, we do so with anticipation. A new president, Donald Trump, will be sworn into the nation’s top position in a few weeks. Many of us wonder, and with good reason, what kind of changes he will bring with him, as he moves into the nation’s home.

It has always been that way. We, as Americans go to the polls every four years to exercise our privilege to vote for the person who, we think, is best to lead our country. Sometimes many are disappointed with the outcome. And sometimes, not so much.

On January 20, Mr. Trump will place his hand on the Holy Bible, held by his wife, Melania, and will repeat a powerful vow, just as 46 other men (including himself) have previously done:

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States…”

As a proud American, who loves her country and its people, I pray that as he repeats the words of the oath of the president, that Mr. Trump will think about what the oath means, not only to him, but to all the people he has been called to serve. I pray that as he takes the oath, he will be thinking of people who look like me and like you, and of all the ways that he can, and will, work to bring our country together.

I want him to have a clear vision of what America can become — a nation where the Constitution is upheld, where there is little, or no division. I want him to think about the 20 percent of Blacks (which is a significant number, considering that for decades Blacks traditionally voted Democrat), and the 42 percent of Hispanics/Latinos who voted for him. And I want him to vow to be a president that will serve ALL Americans.

It is a tall order, but as the president of the United States, Mr. Trump can work on making that happen. And what can we Americans do? We can support our president by praying for him and asking God to give him the wisdom to lead America.

OK, so maybe you didn’t vote for him. Like it or not, Mr. Trump was elected as the not-so-new president of the United States of America. It is something that we must live with for the next four years. As we look forward to Mr. Trump being in the White House for another term, we can sit back and lament over what could have been, or we can move on and try, each in his or her own way to make this a better America.

It isn’t going to be easy. America has been tarnished — by the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, by the police brutality that seemed to be at an all-time high during Mr. Trump’s last stay in the White House, of which he seemed to be oblivious to, the blatant racism and anti-Semitism that seem to ooze from the cracks of America and the just plain hateful acts that Americans inflicted on each other.

It was an era where it almost seemed like the so-called skin heads and neo-Nazis had become heroes to some America. And it seemed like Mr. Trump approved of such actions because he never addressed what was happening during his first run as president.

It seemed that during his first run as president, Mr. Trump was so awe-struck that he’d even been elected, that he was overwhelmed by what was happening all around him. Well, he has had a trial run. This time, Americans expect much more of Mr. Trump as our president. The Bible tells us to pray for those who are in authority so that we may be able to live peacefully. I don’t know about you, but I am a strong believer in prayer. I will be praying daily for Mr. Trump, and every other elected official, for the Lord to help them live up to the mission that they are called to — to serve the people of America.

I urge you not to write off his presidency as a time of doom and gloom before he is seated in the Oval Office. Let’s give Mr. Trump a chance. He will make mistakes. Every president before him did. There has been no perfect president.

Still, let’s be prayerful as well as vigilant as we move into a new year and a new era with a new president. Let’s move on with a new attitude. Let’s work on healing America. The new year of 2025 is a great time to start the healing process. As Americans, let’s look beyond our differences and see how we can each work to make this a better country.

If this is a new year’s resolution, then so be it. God bless President Trump and God bless America.

This story was originally published December 25, 2024 at 5:43 AM.