Now Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. So Joash the king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, and said, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen.”
Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow.” So he drew it. Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands (2 Kings 13:14-16).
At a critical time of leadership when enemies oppressed Israel, the king went to the prophet for direction. Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands, meaning that God would divinely enable the flawed king to accomplish impossible tasks.
One commentator said of this passage: “The trembling hands of a dying prophet gave this arrow more force than the hands of the king in his full strength.”
Right now, President-elect Donald Trump—along with his designated Cabinet members and advisers—needs our hands to be laid on his hands, so to speak. Let us not fail to contend in prayer for this new administration when we, too, are in a critical time of leadership.
I’ve learned to pay attention to the news, because sometimes God will speak to us through the most unusual means. Such was the case a few weeks before the 2016 elections, when our Bound4LIFE team sensed that the Lord gave us an assignment of intercession for the man who is now our president-elect.
On October 26, some protester went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a sledgehammer and vandalized the star bearing the name of Donald Trump. Normally, I wouldn’t care about such a story.
But the news images caught my eye. They were of a man repairing this Trump celebrity star using red tape—the exact same tape Bound4LIFE uses when we pray at the Supreme Court, the red life tape. It’s a strategy we have carried faithfully since 2004, when a team member received the image in a dream. We pray silently as a way to identify with the silence of children in the womb, who have no voice to defend themselves.
Now to more than 300 million Americans, that red tape doesn’t mean anything. But for a few thousand of us (perhaps tens of thousands), red tape represents one thing: intercessory prayer.
After more than 12 years standing at the U.S. Supreme Court, week after week—in blizzard conditions, blazing hot and everything in between—seeing red tape means a lot to me, especially when the worker in the news photos was kneeling to repair the star.
Immediately, we felt the Lord giving us a prayer assignment. It was odd because, frankly, I had not been a fan of this candidate. But that didn’t matter. God was saying to us that, as the red tape surrounded Donald Trump’s star, our intercession would have authority to “surround him on every side and at every point.”
We believe that red tape represents a line of protection, as we’ve prayed for every U.S. president who has held office during our 12 years on Capitol Hill—but it’s also a line of restraint, as we pray that this administration would not step outside the will of God in its policies and decisions.
Our nation is facing many potentially crushing issues under this next presidency, at a time when America seems more divided than ever. Social issues like abortion and systemic racism grip the American conscience. Corruption in government has left the nation feeling fed up.
Threats of terrorism have provoked a sense of fear as the basis for national defense, foreign policy and immigration. For every issue—on every side and at every point—I believe God has a plan, and our role is to pray in faith for it to come to pass. A united church will bring healing to this divided nation.
Just as we honored and declared truth to the previous administration, we must now take the opportunity before us to advance the matters of righteousness and justice. It’s time to put your Life Band back on, a daily reminder to pray for these weighty issues and act with compassion as God directs you.
We pray for U.S. senators, who will be vetting and voting on members of the Trump Cabinet—that those ordained to lead will be confirmed quickly, and in other cases the right leaders would emerge to fill roles. We pray for a spirit of revelation, discernment and vigilance to surround this process.
At the same time, there is an undeniable anticipation for revival in America. We must contend for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in these days—including all that He has in mind to accomplish through President Donald Trump, the 115th Congress, and the Supreme Court.
Will you join with us in prayer and fasting leading up to the inauguration of President Trump and beyond? In prayer, let’s put our hands on the president’s hands so that every agenda will line up with God’s will.
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A full-time missionary, Matt Lockett serves as Executive Director of Justice House of Prayer DC and Bound4LIFE International. He travels and teaches on the subjects of prayer, fasting and governmental intercession—topics covered in his new book Prayer that Impacts the World. Matt and his wife Kim have four children; they live and minister in the Washington, D.C area.
Reprinted with permission from Bound4LIFE International.
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