“1…..that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” – Luke 18:1b
1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:1-4
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. – Romans 13:1
4 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. – Philippians 4:6
1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.– Proverbs 21:1
In the historic US 2024 presidential elections between former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the former president became the second president to make a comeback to the White House. Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms as Donald Trump, becoming POTUS45 and POTUS47. On her part, Harris walked into history books with her accolades (first African American woman, first Asian woman to be presidential nominee of a major US political party), but also someone who re-entrenched the peaceful transition of power in the US political system. Harris is also the second VP to accept the ballot tallies in an election she has lost; in modern times, the last Vice President to take in the state electoral college votes was Al Gore when he lost to George W. Bush (POTUS43).
As with all competitions there are winners and losers; while the fun-fares are being intensified or tissues bunched up for a good cry, the entire world is called to pray for the US election results. Inside and outside the US, people need to summon their praying mats and attire for prayer and earnestly pray. The actions, reactions of the occupant of the WH impacts global dynamics. Praying for leaders is also a biblical directive. The divine ordinances also call for humility (the opposite of pride), unity (the opposite of divisiveness), and the love of others as you love yourself. In the heat of election campaigns, these three human natures are lacking, thrown out the window, and burns out voters.
In the first speech after her 2024 presidential election loss to former president Donald Trump, and accepting defeat in the elections to a large crowd outside her alma mater Howard University, VP Harris vowed to “keep fighting.”
“The light of the American promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up,” Harris said to a cheering crowd that was filled with cheering with many crying and visibly sad faces. In the concession speech, VP Harris also detailed her call with her Republican opponent following his victory. She underscored the importance of and declared that the US “must accept the results of this election.”
The VP pledged to help Mr. Trump and his team with their transition and “engage in a peaceful transfer of power.”
On his part, president-elect Donald Trump spent his first day receiving congratulatory phone calls from his defeated opponent, world leaders and President Joe Biden. He also began the process of turning his election victory into a government. Malawi former president Peter Mutharika extended his congratulations to president-elect Trump. Mutharika extended the warm congratulations through his Facebook page. He said he and President-elect Trump share the same interests in terms of development that benefits everyone.
On the whole, Mr. Trump was keeping a low profile, staying out of the public eye after addressing his supporters after he declared himself the winner of the elections. This was in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and counting of the results was still in progress.
Trump and Harris spoke on a call where the president-elect “acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country,” according to Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.
As the win wore in, the president-elect leader got more potential good news with word that special counsel Jack Smith was evaluating how to wind down the two federal government cases against the president-elect before he takes office in light of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, according to a person familiar with Smith’s plans, but who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to the media. Last year Smith charged Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and another one of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence
While the latter classified documents case had already been dismissed, Mr. Trump’s election victory means that the Justice Department believes he can no longer face prosecution in accordance with decades-old department legal opinions meant to shield presidents from criminal charges while in office.
In his declaration of victory president-elect Trump repeated some of his views about the state of America, that “our country needs help in a lot of areas, our border, immigration…” promising that these were some of the issues that his government was going to be fixing. On her part, VP Harris continued to inspire hope in her base by saying “the light of the American promise will always shine bright; she thanked, expressed gratitude and love for the many volunteers and staff that worked with her in the 107-day campaign.
As onlookers from within the United States and from without, all people should pray, pray that president-elect Mr. Trump receives more grace to proceed; that he gets a divine encounter like that of Saul. People around the world are called to pray that his Jesus moment eases the woes and worries the prospects of his second term will cause on the world political map, and that it is less antagonistic than the first term. Let people pray for humility, love of unifying the country to abound on both sides of the political divide in the US.
May America shame the devil and rise above the rhetoric of hate and animosity that characterized the 2024 campaign. Let love of country (threaded in humility), unity, and love abound, the vital ingredients that have held the country called these United States of America.