Prayer of Rick Warren

Prayers of Rick Warren

By Mitiku Adisu

We now know for sure Pastor Rick Warren will be offering prayer at President Obama's inauguration on January 20, 2009. In the meantime, whether or not Pastor Warren will or should pray in Jesus' name has become the talk of the nation. Some are expecting the pastor to be what he is not and indeed want him to reflect their points of view (not to offend Muslims, Atheists, Jews, etc.). That aside, the president and the pastor do share one thing in common: both would like to present themselves as 'uniter', not as 'divider'. That is a worthy endeavor though the outcome may be radically different for a pastor than for a politician.

For President Obama wanting to govern from the center in order to avoid perils on the fringes could be politically expedient; it is a truism that winning office often trumps principle. For Pastor Warren, however, a greater danger lurks in the idea of wishing to 'include everyone.' In other words, there are non-negotiables of the Christian gospel. Jesus taught and his followers believe that He is the true way of life. The uniqueness of Christianity does not, however, come from setting oneself against the rest of the world but from who Jesus is and what He has done.  

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." [1Timothy 2:4-6]

Let us pray for President Obama. Let us also pray for Pastor Warren—in Jesus' Name.