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On Saturday evening, something happened in the US for the first time in over four decades: an assassination attempt on a president or presidential candidate. While the world began to respond immediately via social media, more thoughtful Americans took time to think through what this meant, what it told us about ourselves and where we are at as a country. The reality is that many in our church, like me, might be at a bit of a disadvantage in knowing how to respond to an event like this, for a few reasons:

1. For any of us who are under 50, we either weren’t alive or were too young to understand the significance of the last time this happened, the attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981. It’s been a long time since our country has collectively processed a tragedy like this.
2. Following up on the last point, God has kindly spared our country from this level of political violence that many other countries face regularly. It’s not uncommon to hear about political violence in world news. But assassination attempts seem distant to those of us who have grown up in America’s recent history. Even amidst the growing polarization in recent years, political rivals have not been targeted violently. Threats might have been made, but they’ve not been acted upon or have been successfully prevented.
3. The current American culture simply doesn’t promote slowing down to process past events. The social media age encourages us to keep looking for the next piece of information, scrolling for the next hot take, waiting for the next viral moment, responding immediately to whatever is happening. These realities do not equip us to process.

But process we should. Christians should be asking how to rightly respond to the events of Saturday night. How should we think about it? How should we interact about it? How does God’s Word direct us to respond? Let me suggest three simple ways to process this.

First, we should be careful in how we talk to and about those with whom we disagree, especially as we proceed during an election season. Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” One of the greatest freedoms in America is the freedom to disagree with other people. As Christians, gracious speech does not mean we will never disagree with others, but it does mean that our conversations should remain gracious, respectful, and beneficial, even in the midst of sharp disagreements. I agree with President Biden’s words from Sunday night: “the political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool down. And we all have a responsibility to do that.” I agree with former President Trump's words on Thursday night: "In an age when our politics too often divides us, now is the time to remember that we are all fellow citizens — we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Christians are the most equipped to do this well. It’s what God has called us to do. And if our response to these quotes is to try to blame one political party over the other for elevating the rhetoric, it just confirms the need for this point even more.

Second, we should pray for our country. Scripture equips us to pray. Use passages like 1 Timothy 2:1-7 and Romans 13:1-7 to lead you in how to pray for our government and fellow citizens. Pray like this. Here are some suggested things you could pray from these two passages.

1 Timothy 2:1-7

• Thank God for peace that we have experienced as a country (vv.1-2).
• Pray for protection for those who govern our country (v.2).
• Pray for Christians to take the lead in having peaceful interactions (v.2).
• Pray for Christians’ lives/actions to exemplify Christlikeness (v.2).
• Thank God that he is a God of order and righteousness (v.3).
• Pray for truth to spread in our country and for people to be saved (v.4).
• Thank God that our ultimate hope is not in political leaders but is in Christ who died and rose again for us (v.5-6).
• Pray for unity in our country that crosses natural divides: ethnic, social, generational, political, etc. (v.7).

Romans 13:1-7

• Pray for God to fill our country with governing authorities who promote truth and righteousness (v.1).
• Pray for citizens of our country to submit to our governing authorities and to pursue peaceful means of protest when they disagree (v.2).
• Pray for our governing authorities to focus their time on promoting good and punishing evil (v.3).
• Pray for our governing authorities to be successful in bringing justice both nationally and locally (v.4).
• Pray for Christians to take the lead in joyfully submitting to the authorities whom God has appointed (v.5).
• Pray for our tax dollars to be used wisely by our governing authorities (vv.6-7).
• Pray for God to guard us from disrespecting/dishonoring the authorities whom he has placed over us (v.7).

Third, remember that no matter what is going on in our country, God sits on His throne (Psalm 2:4). He will not be moved (Psalm 46:1,7). Therefore, our refuge is in Him (Psalm 46:1,11). We can be still, and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). Orienting our hearts in this direction will help us to rightly process events like this.

You might feel powerless to affect much change in our nation’s political climate. However, many individuals are in your sphere of influence, and your conversations with them will likely in turn affect others. As a church, may our words be peace-filled, gracious, prayerful, and grounded in truth.

Related Questions:

Did God protect former President Donald Trump on Saturday night?

Yes. God is in absolute control over life and death (Job 14:5; Psalm 139:16; Acts 27:21-26).

Did God protect former President Donald Trump because He wants him to win the election?

We do not know; nor does anyone. Looking back on what happened is one thing (God protected former President Trump this past Saturday night). But to pretend we know what God’s plans are for an upcoming election is falsely presumptive. We do not know God’s plans for the future. We are not prophets. But we should happily and peacefully participate in the election process, vote, and most importantly, pray.