Praying for Daniels

“Men who understood the times
and knew what Israel should do.”
1 Chronicles 12:32 (NIV)

It’s been almost three weeks since our 2024 national election was held and we saw President-elect  Donald Trump soundly defeat Vice-President Kamala Harris; the Senate Republicans gain control of the U.S. Senate; and the House Republicans maintain their slim majority in Congress. Pundits on both sides of the aisle have been slicing and dicing the election results with various opinions on what caused the surprising outcome in an election that pollsters had predicted was too close to call. President-elect Trump surprisingly won both the popular vote, the electoral college vote, and all of the pivotal swing states.

Many have suggested that the key to the Trump’s success lay in his messaging as he focused on a return to “a common core of common sense” by securing our borders; reducing inflation; deporting illegal criminal immigrants; and running an extremely effective “they/them” ad that heavily influenced undecided moderate and swing voters.

Others have posited that Vice-President Harris lost because she got the Democrat’s nomination without the usual primary process and failed to clearly define both her policies and positions. Some have placed blame for the election’s outcome on President Biden for refusing to exit the 2024 sooner or on Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for staging a party coup that forced President Biden to step down after his disastrous June debate.

I am neither a politician or a prophet, but I’m certain that there will be many books written about the root causes that defined and determined our 2024 election results. The analytics teams for both parties are already mining each state’s voter data by gender, age, race, socioeconomic class, and political party affiliation to determine the dynamics and changing demographics that affected this election’s outcome.

All Christians- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents- are called by God to pray for our government leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2). The Apostle Paul doesn’t designate which political party to pray for; he just commands us to pray. And at the time Paul wrote his words to Timothy, the Emperor Nero was impaling and burning Christians in Rome.

Tucked away in the book of 1 Chronicles is a little verse that is forming the content of my post-election prayers for our newly elected leaders. The men of Issachar, one of the twelve tribes in ancient Israel around 1000 BC, are described as “men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” (1 Chronicles 12:32)

Daniel was such a man. Captured as a teenager and forcibly taken to Babylon, Daniel was forced to serve first as an adviser and later as an administrator to a foreign pagan king. Scripture records Daniel’s faithfulness, character, and commitment to ensure that the “king would suffer no loss” (Daniel 6:2). Throughout his lifetime, Daniel possessed the ability to solve difficult problems (Daniel 5:12,16). He faithfully served at least four pagan kings with competence, skill, ability, and wisdom. (Daniel 5:12) Kings and kingdoms came and went during his seventy-year exile, but Daniel’s character, competence, and courage never changed. His consistent testimony was “the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to whoever he wishes.” Daniel recognized that God is the True Sovereign who reigns and rules over all (Daniel 4:17, 25, 32; 5:21).

Since the election, I’ve been convicted to pray for God to raise up “Daniels”- men who understand the times and know what our country should do- on both sides of the aisle. We need to pray for gifted men and women with character who are capable, competent, and able to solve difficult problems. Our country currently faces crushing inflation, mounting national debt, rampant crime, the possibility of World War III, and a polarized and divided citizenry. We need wise people who not only find problems but can also solve them.

Thanksgiving as a holiday is an American tradition that was formally established as a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. At the height of the Civil War, with our nation literally at war with itself, Abraham Lincoln was counting God-given blessings, praying for national repentance, and pleading for God’s mercy.

This Thanksgiving as we gather around our family tables, instead of talking politics, let’s take a moment to follow President Lincoln’s example and count our blessings. Let’s also plead for God’s mercy to raise up “Daniels” – leaders who understand the times and know what we should do- for the good of our country and the glory of God.
Happy Thanksgiving!