On Donald Trump and the inscrutability of God

How I pray for the new president

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January 21, 2025, 7 a.m. ET

Many themes run through the Christian Bible: grace, forgiveness, concern for those who suffer, love of neighbor, the search for holiness. One theme that emerges clearly is the inscrutable and transcendent character of God. In a passage from the book of Isaiah, God says: My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Although Christians believe that God reigns supreme over history and will direct things to their end, the significance of individual events is much more difficult to discern. For this reason, Christians are not quick to attribute natural disasters to a sign of God's judgment on a particular place. We do not believe that you can count the number of Christians on a sports team and then give victory to the team with the most Christians. The world is more complicated than that. We don't always know why some people get sick and why their prayers for healing are answered, or why some people get sick and die. Promising prosperity and declaring secret knowledge of God's purposes have always been ways to gain applause, power, and money, but they are also dangerous and potentially heretical.

If all this is true for disease and disaster, how much more so for a presidential election? I know more people voted for Donald Trump than Kamala Harris, and that's why he was inaugurated yesterday. I cannot speak with confidence about God's intervention in this matter. I was then surprised to hear the invocation at the inauguration attribute the outcome of the 2024 election to God's positive will for America and as an occasion for praise. This seems to me to be pride, because it presupposes the ability to know God's opinion on an event in history.

Read: Did God Save Donald Trump?

The story of Israel's first king might be instructive. According to the Bible's account, the people of Israel were often defeated by neighboring countries with better fighters. Therefore, the people asked for a king who would be like the kings of the other nations of the world. God gave the people exactly what they wanted, not as a sign of favor but in part as an act of judgment. Saul's reign was long and troubled and ended in disaster, even though it was in response to the people's request. One of the lessons of this event is that sometimes God allows people's worst instincts to flourish so that they see the full error of their ways. According to the Bible, God then chose another king, David, whom the people had not initially asked for or wanted.

The story of David and Saul, and the broader story of God, should cause Christians to be cautious when attempting to interpret events. There is simply too much we don't know. Was the election of Donald Trump an opportunity for God to give the people what they want as a form of judgment, as in the case of King Saul, or was it the resurrection of the chosen gods, as in David's case? For various character reasons, I am convinced that this is not the last solution. God has already raised up the greatest David, Jesus, and humanity no longer needs a savior. Yet I cannot say that Trump's return to the White House is the result of God's judgment on America. History is too complicated to make such clear proclamations.

I know that Christians are commanded to pray for leaders and those in authority, because the more power a politician has, the more influence he has in people's lives. I will pray for Donald Trump just as I prayed for Joe Biden before him. These prayers must have a certain purpose: that our leaders use their power wisely to protect the vulnerable and establish justice for all.

Tim Alberta: My Father, My Faith and Donald Trump

And when a clergy member has the honor of praying before a leader, the prayer should not simply evoke some kind of divine mandate but remind the leader of his solemn responsibility. We serve those in power well when we help them remember that there is someone to whom they are accountable. A good prayer for a person in power should make them shake their knees rather than nod their heads.

I have deep disagreements with this president and his administration. I also had deep disagreements with the previous administration. But I will pray for Donald Trump, because, for better or worse, the fate of this president and the lives of so many people here and abroad are now intertwined. Lord, have mercy.

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