What the Inauguration Tells Us About Trump’s Faith

By: Chris Johnson

“In a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear, but I felt then and believe – even more so – now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.”

So said Donald Trump in his inauguration speech as the 47th president of the United States.

It’s hard to say what those words might mean to a man like Donald Trump, a man not known for his religious fervor, whose short career in public service has seen him surrounded by the zealous – from Mike Pence to Paula White.

From the “Evangelicals for Trump” rally, to the namedrop of Franklin Graham when Trump accepted the 2024 Republican nomination (he noted that he’d told Graham he would try not to swear so much). From the spontaneous outbursts of “Great is Thy Faithfulness” among his audience at Mar-a-Lago to all the people who’ve prayed over him at rallies and events, Trump’s experiences with Christianity have been anything but organized. Yet, he’s claimed to be a Christian, said we need more religious influence on our government, and surrounded himself with Christians in his inner circles.

Where exactly Donald Trump is with the Lord is impossible to say. For every positive sign we could think of, there’s a crass word, a missed opportunity, a prideful statement, etc. to point to his being an unrepentant heathen – or a repentant heathen in need of much sanctification. Only God knows.

But for those who followed the inauguration on January 20th, it was evident that it had been coordinated by someone who took God’s hand on the election very seriously.

The day began with a traditional private church service at St. John’s Episcopal church. The tradition began with the inauguration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Trump’s service – according to the rector there – was being modeled after that original service.

It included this prayer which was written for FDR by the rector in 1945: “O LORD our Governor, whose glory is in all the world; We commend this nation to thy merciful care, that being guided by thy Providence, we may dwell secure in thy peace. Grant to thy servant, Franklin, the President of the United States, and to all in authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do thy will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness; and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people in thy fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

“Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favour and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

A truly beautiful prayer; we can only hope that it was prayed in sincerity.

Later, as the time for Trump and Vance to enter the Capitol Rotunda for the ceremony, the sounds of the patriotic brass brand gave way to the simple melodies of two Christian hymns, played on the piano: “For the Beauty of the Earth” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

This was followed shortly by opening prayers from Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the Rev. Franklin Graham. Dolan invoked the prayer of Solomon for wisdom as he began his reign of Israel and referred to the faith of America’s legendary leaders.

Franklin Graham’s prayer included the following words: “We remember to keep our eyes fixed on You, and may our hearts be inclined to Your voice. We know that America can never be great again if we turn our backs on You. We ask for Your help.”

I am confident that the words of these prayers were submitted to Trump’s staff before the ceremony, and apparently, given the thumbs up.

Finally, the ceremony closed with three more prayers by religious leaders: first, a rabbi, then Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, and finally Catholic priest Rev. Frank Mann. An Imam from Dearborn was apparently asked and then uninvited, potentially due to public words of support for Hamas.

These men also prayed for wisdom and unity and blessing for the incoming administration.

We can speculate about where Donald Trump is with the Lord. But what we can see clearly is that Trump, or those closest to him, chose to honor God in the inauguration ceremony. They primarily invited solid, Biblical, Christian voices to speak into this, one of the most important moments of his life, and I think Christians should draw encouragement from that.

There’s probably no one in the country who’s had more people pray for him than Donald Trump. I think he must be reminded of that every time he turns his head or touches his ear. Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, who gave one of the benediction prayers, calls it the “millimeter miracle.”

There will be things that Christians wish Trump would say and do during the next four years, that he won’t – whether out of ignorance, or different priorities, or political strategy. There will be things that he says and does that we know God would not have him to do.  But we cannot doubt that he is where God would have him to be.

Keep praying for President Donald Trump.

 

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