American evangelist Franklin Graham used his invocation prayer during Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday to pray for God’s blessing on the US President and his next four years in office.
In his prayer, Graham touched on the assassination attempt that nearly took Trump’s life last July and said that God alone had saved him.
“Father, when Donald Trump’s enemies thought he was down and out, You and You alone saved his life and raised him up with strength and power by Your mighty hand,” he said.
“We pray for President Trump, that You’ll watch over, protect, guide, direct him. Give him Your wisdom from Your throne on high. We ask that You would bless him and that our nation would be blessed through him.”
Graham then thanked God for First Lady Melania Trump whom he praised for her “beauty, warmth, and grace”, and prayed for Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance.
Before concluding, he prayed for Americans to be faithful to God.
“We remember to keep our eyes fixed on You, and may our hearts be inclined to Your voice,” he said.
“We know that America can never be great again if we turn our backs on You. We ask for Your help.”
Graham, the son of late evangelist Billy Graham, was a strong supporter of Trump’s policies during his last administration. In 2019, he said that his father had voted for Trump and “believed that Donald J Trump was the man for this hour in history for our nation”.
Writing on social media after the inauguration, Graham asked his 10 million followers to pray for President Trump.
During Monday’s inauguration prayers were also offered by Rabbi Ari Berman, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell and Rev Frank Mann.
Sewell prayed, “Heavenly Father, we’re so grateful that you gave our 45th and now our 47th president, a millimeter miracle. We are grateful that you are the one that has called him for such a time as this, that America would begin to dream again.”
Trump did not waste any time getting started on his campaign promises, signing off a succession of presidential orders on a range of issues. On day one, he removed the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, started the process to withdraw from the World Health Organization, and declared a “national emergency” at the southern border. He also moved to end birthright citizenship and pardoned over 1,500 January 6 Capitol rioters.
