Now, here at New Covenant, many of our members did not welcome the notion of Barak Obama becoming our next president. As Christians, we are pro-life and have found that this one principle, time and time again, dictates the direction many other priorities and views take. But we also tend toward political conservatism as well. So, when the duty comes before us to pray and to pray seriously for our current president, we often feel frustrated as to how to go about doing that.

But after reflecting upon the question for a few moments, this humble Rabbi has a suggestion to offer you – and it is a prayer that we can offer in much more seriousness than the prayer offered in the movie. We need to pray earnestly that our sovereign Lord would put a hedge of protection around this man and not allow the stresses and the temptations to destroy his marriage and his family.

Once again, I am reminded of the way President Obama wants to be regarded in parallel to President Lincoln. But we do not want parallels here. President Lincoln also brought a young family to Washington DC, but while he was busy fighting an unpopular civil war, his family was also suffering greatly. His first son, Edward, lived only four years and had died even before Lincoln became president. His second son, William, died at the age of 12 in the White House. Probably as a result of this second death, President Lincoln’s wife, Mary, suffered greatly, emotionally and mentally, and lived a very miserable existence. May the Lord protect the Obamas from such trauma and heartache.