Christians believe that prayer is one of the greatest privileges we have.

We believe that earnest prayer in Jesus’ name acknowledges the existence of God, that He actually hears every prayer, that He is all-powerful, and that prayers of faith can move Him to change things.

But unlike some that believe they have to pray at certain times of the day, or in certain positions, or facing a certain direction, Christians believe we can pray anytime, in any position and facing any direction.

The Holy Bible teaches that Jonah prayed in the belly of a whale. Daniel prayed in a den of lions. Jesus prayed on a mountain, in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. He prayed at night. He prayed in the day. He prayed alone and He prayed in public.

So Christians can pray anytime and anywhere; and it is a great privilege that our loving sovereign God has given to all of His people.

Having said this, at least periodically, some people like to go to Churches, shrines, or significant designated holy places to pray.

In fact, every year several million people visit the Wailing Wall in Israel to pray. God said His heart and eyes are always there so some Christians believe His divine presence is there in a special way and they want to go there to feel it and to pray.

But many people do more than stand in front of a wall weeping and praying. Since the 1700s, Christians and Jews have been writing prayers on pieces of paper, folding the paper and sticking it in cracks between the blocks of the wall.

Hillary Clinton visited the Wailing Wall in 2002 and again in 2005. On both occasions, she stuck a piece of paper in a crack, but she never revealed what she wrote on them. There is nothing wrong with that. Prayers can be private or public. She kept her prayers private.

As a candidate for president of the U.S., Barack Obama visited the Wailing Wall in 2008. He stuck a piece of paper in a crack that was later removed by a seminary student and sold to a newspaper that published it.

Mr. Obama’s prayer was “Lord, protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.”

The newspaper that published his prayer received a lot of criticism for violating Mr. Obama’s privacy. Since then, others have complained that his prayer was mostly selfish because he mentioned “me” five times. They believe he should have prayed for people other than himself and family, and that he should have prayed for peace on earth, asked God to bless the U.S. or whatever.

Now, Donald Trump  is  U.S. president -elect. As far as this writer knows he hasn’t yet visited the Wailing Wall., but he sent one of his advisors, David Faiman, to Israel with a prayer and instructions to place it in a crack in the Wailing Wall.

Mr. Trump reportedly wrote the prayer with the help of his Jewish daughter, Ivanka. It reads, “May you bless the United States, our armed forces and our allies. May your guiding hand protect and strengthen our great nation.”

Notice that Trump  did  not ask for anything for himself. He asked God to bless our nation, our military and our allies (Israel and others), and to protect and strengthen America.

The election  is now behind us and it would be good to pray for the winner, and for all the things mentioned in Mr. Trump’s prayer.

And remember that God will bless those that bless Israel.

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck

Some believe King Solomon wrote three books in the Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. He is widely recognized as one of the wisest men who ever lived.

His writings were inspired by the Holy Spirit. They have been quoted for close to three thousand years.

With an election going on, something he wrote is on my mind: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn” (Prov. 29:2).

It is not my purpose to declare that Donald Trump is righteous or that Hillary Clinton is wicked. God has not granted that authority to me or any other mortal human being.

There is none righteous no not one, especially Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, myself and everyone that has ever lived except for the Lord Jesus Christ. All of us are fallen people on a fallen planet.

I love what America used to be, but I grieve terribly over what America has become. And as I understand Bible prophecy, America and the world are going to get worse not better. For this reason, I am eagerly anticipating the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for His Church.

Millions of people have voted, but I haven’t yet, and crunch time is here. Am I going to vote for a Republican or for a Democrat? Am I going to vote for the American people to rejoice or for the American people to mourn?

This election has more at stake than which political party to vote for. Rejoicing and mourning are also on the ballot. Our future and the future of our children and grandchildren are on the ballot, too.

This is consistent with what God told Abraham: “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee” (Gen. 12:2). A nation and people can choose to be blessed by God or they can choose to be cursed by God.

The people we choose to rule over us have a direct bearing on the quality of our lives. They are ministers of God for rejoicing or ministers of God for mourning (Rom. 13:4).

It may alarm some, but I even believe that the Bible teaches that we can participate in the sins of others by wrongfully putting them in positions of authority (1 Tim. 5:22).

So when I step into that booth to vote, my first priority should be: “Which person does God want me to vote for?” Perhaps, my second priority should be, “Which person is best for America? And one of my least priorities should be to which political party they belong.

Personally, I don’t want to participate in mistreating women and children. Donald Trump was recorded using offensive vulgar language, but Hillary Clinton has taken millions of dollars from Arab countries that condone the oppression, rape and murder of women and children. The leaders of these countries remain silent while they finance ISIS who is raping, killing and selling thousands of women and children into slavery.

Personally, I don’t want to participate in abortion because that is murder. Donald Trump is speaking against it while Hillary Clinton has long fought to make abortion even more available and common place. Abortion is used to take the lives of 125,000 babies worldwide every day, but that is not enough for Hillary. She has recently come out in support of the hideous late term partial-birth abortion.

Personally, I don’t want to participate in a one-world government because the Bible says it is coming, and it will be satanic. Donald Trump is against globalization and Hillary Clinton is 100 percent for it. Clinton’s campaign chairman is a member of the Trilateral Commission—a group that is pushing for a one-world government.

Personally, I don’t want to participate in lies, fraud, greed, scandal and cover-up. Both candidates are dealing with problems in this area, but it has been a long-time way of life for Hillary Clinton, and there is a big difference the kind of judges the two candidates would put on the U.S. Supreme Court. Because of the ages of the current members of the court, the next president of the United States could conceivably appoint three, possibly four justices.

These appointees will dramatically affect our lives over the next 30-plus years. My children and grandchildren will have to live in a nation that will be required to abide by their rulings. I can’t support the candidate who would appoint judges that will rule against our religious freedoms. Trump has promised to appoint conservative judges, while Clinton will appoint very liberal judges that she can control.

Personally, I don’t want to participate in harming immigrants, but we are being told that Social Security, Medicare and our healthcare system are going broke. Part of the problem is the generous benefits that are going to illegal immigrants.

And it seems to me that it is wrong to destroy the benefits of our current citizens to buy votes from non-citizens. One candidate wants to reduce illegal immigration and the other wants to greatly increase it by over 500 percent.

Personally, I don’t want to be a racist because racism is wrong, but it is one thing to talk about the plight of the poor and another thing to do something about it. One candidate is being called a racist and the other has been in politics for more than 30 years and the plight of blacks has gotten worse not better.

There is much more and I am sure that many people will be upset with me for writing this article, but I need to move on to something else.

I was recently asked something like this, “As a preacher, what do you say to people about this election?”

I say we need to pray for both candidates, pray for their salvation, pray that God will surround them with godly advisers, pray that God will show them mercy, grace, and more.

We also need to pray for the Church, our nation and ourselves. We have gotten off track and we need genuine revival. Without it, Satan the father of lies, and the Antichrist—a liar and a deceiver, will soon take over this country. Please vote, but remember that your vote should be for more than party politics.

Prophecy Plus Ministries
Daymond & Rachel Duck
duck_daymond@yahoo.com