Trump’s near-assassination sparks a call to God

America almost had, but providentially dodged, yet another Franz Ferdinand moment with the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump over the weekend. Here are the big ideas I have in the aftermath.

Pray for Donald Trump personally

I sincerely hope and pray that Trump uses this moment as the impetus to fully turn his life over to God as Ronald Reagan did 43 years ago when he was almost assassinated. What a testimony that would be, and right at the time when not just us but the whole world needs America to have a leader like that. That would be a true Romans 8:28 moment.

Many years ago, I was nearly killed in a car accident. I wasn't a believer, I flunked out of college, and I was working at a temp agency. And even at 22 (let alone 78, like Trump is now), that prompted me to radically reassess where I was with my life, and God used that as the first step toward moving me where I am now. Trump’s statement Sunday morning was one of the best he’s ever released. Truly inspiring and presidential.

Pray this wakes us up to the real threat we are facing

I sincerely hope and pray that God uses this moment to awaken His people in this country to the urgency of the times. If Trump hadn't turned his head and that shot had landed had just centimeters differently, it would have instantly made all our current (and very important) differences seem trivial. Moreover, if Trump had brought his family or other VIPs on stage, as he often does, they could have been the targets instead.

Please pray for God’s protection, because these next few months before Trump returns could become even more hectic and chaotic than they already are.

This shot wasn’t just across Trump’s bow but everyone’s bow. Darkness is growing ever more. Grandmothers in Tennessee face prison sentences for prayerfully protesting barbarism. Patriots who committed no violent acts on January 6 still rot away in D.C. gulags or live as outcasts in their own country. We’ve seen the attempted character assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the actual assassination attempts on the Family Research Council and GOP lawmakers playing baseball. The "other" rhetoric injected by the Spirit of the Age into the water table and the soul of the Democratic Party is, as Obama's former pastor once said, “coming home to roost.”

As I’ve been saying for the last couple of years, we are running out of time to peaceably but aggressively use the political process to meaningfully push back against this darkness. I don’t know how many more warning shots it will take or how many more we have left. But pray that now is the time to overcome our fear of woke wives, our own cowardice, or losing a job we hate and become citizens who refuse to lose the country we love while we still have that chance. This opportunity won’t last forever.

Pray for our country

As I said after the presidential debate in June, when the world saw Joe Biden’s diminishing capacity and the likelihood of the return of the guy who signs Abrahamic Accords and drops MOABs, our enemies must know they are on borrowed time. How might they react? Might they accelerate their plans while they still can?

The world has become even more dangerous since June 27, and this is increasingly true now. They must realize this near miss will rally people to Trump even more. Additionally, the Democrats are currently mired in turmoil due to Biden's unfitness for office.

Please pray for God’s protection, because these next few months before Trump returns could become even more hectic and chaotic than they already are.

Pray for our enemies

Finally, Democrats have mocked thoughts and prayers for years. Now they have a chance to set an example. Please pray that God uses this moment to urge that party and its media industrial complex to seriously reconsider their tactics, such as never-ending gaslighting and memory holes, un-American lawfare against opponents, and dehumanizing anyone who disagrees by labeling them as racist, insurrectionist, literally Hitler, Nazi, fascist, etc. Otherwise, anything the party's leaders or media say about this is empty rhetoric.

They need self-reflection if they truly want us to continue being E pluribus unum. If the weekend’s events don’t prompt that change, then we know what many of us have already suspected — they don’t.