Today begins the holy privilege of praying [1 Timothy 2:1-4] for the new president-elect of the United States of America: Barack Obama.

I encourage everyone to listen again to my very prophetic song from 1999 ‘Everywhere Lift Up Holy Hands’ [from the ‘Without Hesitation’ cd]: Open Music Player.

As many of you know, the Hebrew word ‘barak’ means ‘to bless, to praise or to kneel’. We use this word so commonly in our worship:

  • Psa 18:46 The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.
  • Job 1:21 And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
  • Psa 34:1I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
  • Psa 41:13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.
  • Psa 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah
  • Psa 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
  • Psa 103:1 A Psalm Of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2  Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
  • Psa 134:1 Behold, bless the LORD, All you servants of the LORD, Who by night stand in the house of the LORD! 2  Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD. 3  The LORD who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion!
  • Even one of our favorite worship passages with the singers and musicians going before the army of Jehosaphat ends in the valley of blessing: 2Ch 20:26  And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day.

I was reading in Genesis 12 today with this thought:

  • Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless [barak] you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless [barak] those who bless [barak] you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.[barak]”.

I believe this should be an encouragement to the church, that in humbling ourselves, turning from our own ways, and praying for and blessing our new president, the Lord would once again bless and heal our great nation. Give yourselves to prayer and blessing during this important and pivotal season. May the name of our president remind us of our Lord Jesus and His desire to bless nations through us and that one day every knee will bow before our King.

Interestingly, the word ‘barak’ also means ‘to curse’ (found only in Job when Satan and Job’s wife used it to tempt Job to mistrust the hand of God in his life). In my prophetic song, Everywhere, I sang this: ‘o turn our tongues from condemnation to intercession…’ – or from cursing to blessing, from death to life, from defeat to victory! May we continue to trust God in the midst of our nation’s troubles, and believe God for His blessing and healing as we humble ourselves, pray and turn from our wicked ways [1 Chronicles 7:14].

May the innocent, speechless, unborn, disenfranchised, oppressed, poor and needy, abandoned, orphans and widows around the world once again have a Voice that will protect and defend them.

May this amazing and significant day in our nation’s history be used to turn our hearts and the heart of our new president, even more toward Jesus Christ, to bless many nations. May His name be praised and be made great throughout the world. Through our nation may all the families of the earth (every race, every tongue) be blessed, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father. God is on the throne! May God bless [barak] America!

In Him,
Dr. Tim Smith

Comments:

D.B. – Amen, Tim!

B.E. – Thanks for the encouragement! I posted it to my Facebook page for all to read. Brent

D.M. -Great word that I am in complete agreement with. Thank you for taking the time to write it and send of out. The church clearly is at an incredible cross roads were I believe the Father is speaking today choose life or death, blessing or curseing. We have a unique oppurtumity to stand with this new President even when we categorically disagree with his policy and agenda. Now is not the time to cower as cynics but to rise and shine as modern day Daniels. David McKay

S.V. – Good stuff Tim thanks for sharing.

M.K. – Thanks for that inspiring email. Actually, your song has been coming to mind recently. Thanks for blessing us all.

M.T. –Thanks Tim!  I will pass this on. God Bless you, your ministry and family!

R.C. – Thank you, Pastor Tim, for this good information and call to prayer.  I also would pray that God would bless (“barak”) the unborn, and that the earthly curse upon them would be lifted.  My only consolation in regard to the 40-50 million babies that have been aborted in our country is that I believe God to have brought them to Himself.  Without that, my despair at the thought of their brutal deaths, and of those being rocked to death by nurses in “comfort rooms,” would perhaps be greater than I can bear.  I’m sorry if I have offended anyone, but the last few days have brought this issue to the forefront of my mind, and I hope it will be included in the prayers of others, who share my passion for the unborn (and their mothers).

K.H. –Good word. Thanks for the email.  I agree whole heartedly that we need to be humbling ourselves and praying for our nation and our new president.  Just as Paul encouraged Timothy in 1 Tim 2:1-4. It is interesting to note that our President Elect’s first name “Barak” in Hebrew means “to kneel and give homage” and by implication “bless”. It’s also interesting that it has a dual meaning of “Lightning flash”.  I wonder if there is anything prophetic in there? While the principle of repentance is universal throughout the Bible, the promises given in 2 Chron 7:14 are specifically given for the nation of Israel.  We cannot remove the promise from the context in which it was given, namely the Lord God addressing Solomon regarding the dedication of the temple. No doubt that the church has a lot of humbling, praying and turning to do.  No doubt that when she does, she will once again become a beacon of hope and an effective witness in a darkened world.  But whether or not the Lord chooses to heal this land, is His sovereign choice. None the less, the message was good and right and timely. I appreciated it very much.  Thank you.

C.H. – Once again I am so blessed by your attitude and focus on the important stuff-worship & prayer! Thanks for the encouragement and devotional guide.

K.H. – In a time and season when one is wondering what the Lord is doing and the uncertainty in every area of life, it is good to know that God is still in control.

C.S. – “Thank you for your God Bless America email.  You should post it on Facebook.  I listened to the song. It seems you were ahead of the IHOP movement, that is what your song reminds me of!

M.H. – Thank you so much for sending this out.  You know I am a closet democrat attending church, and have never been able to understand the attitude of some who presume that because we attend the same church we have the same politics.   This was healing for me.  Thank you.

B.S. – the best political email that has come out this entire season, and i love you for it.

K.L. – It is a privilege to forward this word and song of the Lord out! Thank you-

B.B. – Awesome insight Pastor Tim

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