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He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise (Daniel 2:21, NLT).
In the Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson, he writes the phrase “the shot heard around the world.” Emerson was describing the opening shots of the Revolutionary War fired in Lexington and Concord.
I’ve just been in Scotland, and with the time difference, on Sunday morning, July 14th, I opened my phone to the news, only to see a photo of former President Trump turned to his right and a bullet clearly seen passing his head.
The shot heard around the world—and now, the shot seen around the world.
What were my thoughts? What are your thoughts? Biblically thinking, what should be our thoughts as followers of Jesus?
Jesus said. . .
“You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; Red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! (Matthew 16:2-3).
My first thought: God answers prayers!
I’ve been praying often for both President Biden and President Trump.
I ask God for their protection and that they would surround themselves with Scripturally wise advisors. Perhaps it was my prayer that saved Donald Trump, but from a humbler perspective, God answered the prayers of many who’ve been praying for him.
My second thought: Does this mean God has anointed Trump to be president?
I don’t know.
When it comes to politics, I believe in God’s sovereignty. As the prophet Daniel says, “He removes kings and sets up other kings.” I believe God has history under His control. This doesn’t mean that I’m not concerned about politics—I am—sometimes too much.
But I only find peace in my hope of God’s goodness!
My third thought: Upper-level prayer warriors seriously influence world events.
All of us can pray, but some develop Spirit sensitivity through regularly exercising the various disciplines of prayer. They have pinpoint accuracy in their prayers. They can discern middle-of-the-night anxiety as either fear, bad pizza, or God’s Spirit.
And they sense the Spirit’s concerns in advance and pray prophetically.
The “shot seen around the world photo” was taken by New York Times photographer Doug Mills. Mills also took the historic photo of Donald Trump raising his fist as he was led off stage by the Secret Service and immediately sent that photo to his editor.
A few minutes later, Doug Mills remembered that he had been standing in front of the podium photographing when the shots rang out. Without looking at the photos, he sent those to his editor as well.
Not long afterward, his editor called and said that “the shot” could be seen. . .
My final thought: I don’t have a platform from which to influence world events or perhaps even local events. But I can pray, ask for wisdom, and become a latter-day prayer warrior.
Join me! Jesus is coming.