Prayer Points Based on the Inauguration
May His Will Be Done!
A few of you know that I work parttime as a teacher. This week, many of my students will begin reading Shakespeare’s tragedy, Julius Caesar. One of my prayer points for Trump is based on the plot of this play.
Prayer Point #1 “Lord, disarm any Brutus, Casca, and Cassius in the Trump administration, staff and cabinet.
If you do not recall the plot from your school days, Caesar was killed by a friend. This betrayal occurred because Brutus was coerced by fellow Roman conspirators, but this coercion was easy because of his worldview. Brutus feared that Caesar would consider himself ‘‘greater’’ than the state. To save the state, this coordinated effort by friend and foe, ended with Caesar’s assassination.
Let us regular petition to God for Prayer Point #1. From the words he spoke today, Trump says the focus of this Republic should God and the citizens.
Prayer Point #2 “Lord God, subdue and arrest all dead human spirits and demons that have been given permission by a statement or prayer offered up before, after, and during the Inauguration.
The last prayer of the benediction included a priest’s request to God that Donald Trump’s dead parents assist him in his goals. Perhaps this is common to Catholic tradition, however including the dead in our daily lives is not scriptural; in fact, it is a form of pagan idolatry.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering,[e] anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.
While the priest did not specifically indicate that Trump would intentionally pray to his dead parents, requesting from God episodes of interaction between the dead and the living, is unbiblical and dangerous. I would conclude that the Catholic tradition of praying to saints, venerated human beings, falls in this category. Bible teacher and prayer minister, Amanda Buys of South Africa says this: “Both Hebrew and Christian scriptures mention the existence of the spirits of those who have died as being present and identifiable by those who are still alive. These disembodied human spirits are described in Scripture as "ghosts", the English translation of the Hebrew word ‘obh18, and of the Greek words, phantasma19 and pneuma20. "The Biblical references... seem to suggest some form of specter or apparition from the realm of the dead."21 These are also described in Hebrew scripture as being the "shades"22 that inhabit "Sheol", the place of the dead or the nether world. In Christian scripture, there is a clearer understanding that ultimately every human spirit ends up in close relationship with the Creator or excluded from the presence of the Creator forever. But even Christian scripture does not rule out the possibility of a human spirit remaining on the earth following the death of the body. The Son of Man did not dispute the existence of such disembodied human spirits. He did not ridicule His disciples when they mistook Him for a ghost as He walked on the water of Sea of Galilee.”
If you have Catholic friends, pray for them. Vice President Vance is Catholic, so pray for him as well. Buys continues her point explaining, “Later, following His crucifixion and resurrection, He made it clear that His Resurrection Body was not that of a ghost by inviting the disciples to touch Him. "A ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."24 He also asked for a piece of broiled fish and ate it in their presence. By inference, the teaching is that a living human being cannot physically touch a disembodied human spirit nor can it eat…Scripture records two separate instances when the disembodied human spirit of a righteous person was allowed to be seen in the physical world and to have a conversation with a living human being. The Hebrew record is that of King Saul asking the medium of Endor to conjure the spirit of a Hebrew prophet. (Kanaan Ministries)
So pray with me on a regular basis, Prayer Point #2
A Golden Age for America?
When President Trump declared that we were now in a Golden Age, I decided to do a quick investigation of references to this phrase. I found this on Wikipedia:
…"Golden Age" denotes a period of primordial peace, harmony, stability, and prosperity. During this age, peace and harmony prevailed in that people did not have to work to feed themselves for the earth provided food in abundance. They lived to a very old age with a youthful appearance, eventually dying peacefully, with spirits living on as "guardians". Plato in Cratylus (397 e) recounts the golden race of humans who came first. He clarifies that Hesiod did not mean literally made of gold, but good and noble.
In classical Greek mythology, the Golden Age was presided over by the leading Titan Cronus;[3] in Latin authors it was associated with the god Saturn.[4]
It is this latter information that raises my eyebrows. As a teacher, I understand metaphor and Trump’s speech writer could have innocently used this idea of Golden Age to illustrate Trump’s intentions for the next four years. However, as a student of archeology, ancient literature, cosmic geology, and the Bible, I know that the beings that the Greeks worships were real creatures, fallen, dark, and deceptive. Some were hybrid—part human and part nonhuman; demigods as we usually call them in literature. Scripture teaches that fallen beings will steal, kill, and destroy, usurp and beguile whenever and however they can. So let us pray:
Prayer Point #3 Just and Righteous God, I petition that you would make null and void any link of the phrase “Golden Age” used by Trump, and likely referred to hereafter by US citizens and noncitizens alike, in reference to his speech, to the fallen being(s) Cronus/Saturn, and any other fallen principality and prince, ruler, authority, cosmic power of this present darkness and spiritual force of evil in the heavenly places.
That is all I have, but continue to ask God to reveal to you anything that is said or done, by Trump or those affiliated with his administration, that is not in alignment with His intents and purposes for our lives and the redemptive purpose of this land.
To end, two of my favorite moments: US Naval Academy Glee Club sings 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' at Donald Trump's inauguration. They even sang the last verse!
Lyrics: 1 Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
Refrain:
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
2 I have seen him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read the righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on. [Refrain]
3 He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of all before his judgment seat;
O be swift, my soul, to answer him; be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on. [Refrain]
4 In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me;
As he died to make us holy, let us die that all be free!
While God is marching on. [Refrain]
Watch Carrie Underwood performs ‘America the Beautiful’ at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Way to overcome a challenge, Carrie! Just like our 47th President and the people of this land!
God was honored and a part of the whole inauguration. And besides the one part about his dead parents - it really was scriptural. Wow - what a great beginning of your second term Mr. President.