Why it’s time to pray for us as 2025 starts, and to pray for Donald Trump | Opinion

Since this is my first column of 2025, I think it is still OK to wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year.

That is my wish although it seems that we stepped out of the stormy 2024, into the blasting heat of 2025. Already there has been a mass murder of 14 people when a man plowed his pickup truck into a crowd of people celebrating the new year in New Orleans’ French Quarter on New Year’s Day. He had an ISIS flag.

The gruesome incident left dozens injured. This and the random deaths from reckless shooters at New Year’s celebrations made for a bloody start for the new year. Still, the year is young. We have time to do better. And I pray that we will.

While on the subject of prayer, in my last column, I suggested that we pray for President-elect Donald Trump and ask the Lord to give him the wisdom and the heart to lead our country down the right path.

I received several emails — some that agreed with me and some who thought I did my readers a “disservice” by asking them to pray for Donald Trump.

Here’s what Gary said:

“I am certain your heart is in the right place. Unfortunately, this is a man that has a long history of treating people with disdain. Praying to God will help you, maybe, but it will not change the sick nature of this man. I wish you were right but I’m certain it’s only your opinion and the reality is, that Donald Trump will continue to be the same loathsome human being he has always been.”

And from Dan:

“I think your recent article in the Miami Herald … does a disservice to your many readers. I am not a man of faith, but the assumption that the prayers of all DJT’s constituency are in alignment is ill-founded. There are a lot of his supporters who agree with his policies and feel that God has delivered them and their prayers. Those ‘mistakes’ you mention in his first presidency are considered achievements. They may look at his survival from the first assassination attempt as a sign from God that he is following a holy path. I think you would have done your following a better service by recommending that they write to their local congressmen and senators, encouraging them to explain how certain actions and activities are against their wishes and values. ... I don’t know if he has a religious advisor (my guess would be no). ... I feel the path of prayer speaks to God but to speak to DJT, you need to vocalize.”

I truly understand the frustration of my readers. I, too, am frustrated at the way things seem to be going. That is why I pray and urge all freedom-loving believers, who want to bring our country together in unity, to do the same.

These are scary times. Just recently, there was news of Trump wanting to merge Canada with the United States, suggesting that Canada should become “the 51st state”. According to some news sources, he has even threatened “economic force” to bring about the annexation.

In my opinion, this move and the talks of buying Greenland and taking control of the Panama Canal, puts us in a very bad light in the rest of the world. Which is all the more reason for us to pray without ceasing.

While attempts at the annexation of Canada date back to America’s early history, that part of our story is now water under the bridge. According to Matthew Lebo, a political Science professor at the University of Western Ontario, and a visiting professor at McGill University at Montreal, “Canada and the United States fought a war over this in 1812.”

However, when the two nations became allies in the 20th century, the annexation fears ended, according to Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, with a focus on Canadian foreign policy. Today, Canada and the United States have been steadfast military and economic partners for more than a century.

So, my question is, why now? Why mess with the good relationship that exists between the two countries? Is the president-elect so power-hungry that he sees controlling Canada as the first step in controlling the entire western hemisphere? And then what? Power-hungry individuals can never get enough. They are always hungry for more.

In a few days, Donald J. Trump will take the oath of office of the President of the United States for the second time. He said during his last campaign that if people voted for him to become president, they wouldn’t have to vote ever again. That’s because during his last reign, he got a taste of what it is like to be one of the most powerful men in the world. And it only increased his appetite for more power. It seems that he wants to make his dream of becoming a dictator a reality.

So, dear friends, when I ask you to pray with me and other believers for our leaders and for our country, trust me, it is the right thing to do. I still believe that prayer changes things. Mr. Trump may be above America’s law, but he isn’t above the law of God.