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For all of my adult life, I have been a counterculturalist. First, it was with the utopian, idealistic, yet ultimately defective hard-left version of events. But then, by God’s grace, I found the real deal, built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, His unchanging Word, love and forgiveness.

Donald Trump has taken the oath of office as America’s 47th president. Christians are commanded to pray for governing officials, regardless of politics. So, as the country enters a new chapter of its history, here are five ways that Christians can pray biblically for the current administration.

The Western church has placed such stringent conditions on civil disobedience that it's difficult to imagine any situation that meets the standard. Scripture paints a different picture.

It is this sustaining hope, envisioning glory to come, that allows us to continue amidst the sin and cruelty that darken our age and sometimes our own relationships closer to home. It empowers us to bear fruit as peacemakers, life givers, lovers of the poor, sick and suffering.

Forever is not so far away. May we eagerly await, with great anticipation, our true home in heaven.

An important feature of Hebraic prayer is that it puts God’s will at the centre and requires us to seek Him for the empowerment to obey His call.

The God who has been sufficient for you before in times of need, as Spurgeon wrote, can be trusted to the end.

Modern Christian prayers can easily slide into the trap of becoming all about me and my needs, rather than about God, or about the community in which He has placed us. In sharp contrast, Hebraic prayer focuses on the corporate over the individual.

As Christians, we are called to proclaim truth. But its is wise to first be silent in order to test what or who is the source of our opinion.

Various scripture passages speak to the need for us to test things, including testing ourselves. On this issue of examining ourselves, we certainly do need to keep tabs on our lives, but we also must guard against being overly introspective. We must keep our eyes on Christ.

Like the early disciples, may I encourage you to keep your prayers Scripture-based and Scriptural. Declaring God’s Word in prayer will build your own faith and that of those around you, releasing His power into situations that seem completely impossible.

By studying the text and a traditional Hebraic understanding of prayer, we can gain insights into how the disciples prayed and perhaps how we, too, can be more effective in prayer.

For the Christian, there can be real mixed emotions about where we live. Right now, we inhabit a sinful world, but we still find much about it to enjoy. But we also know that this world is not our home, and our true place of residency is still to come.

God knows every star in every galaxy (in fact, He created them) as well as the tiniest, nearly invisible microbe that the world’s most powerful microscope can barely see. What’s more, this infinite, transcendent God cares about us deeply.

We now have a brand new book by Jordan Peterson that has many people talking: "We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine". There are already many Christians discussing it, and pointing out his many shortcomings in terms of expressing orthodox Christian teaching.

One main theme of Peterson’s book is that life is an adventure, albeit a risky one, and living by and for truth, regardless of any negative consequences, is the path we must follow. Taking responsibility for our actions, and remaining steadfast in our higher pursuits, is vital.

Jordan Peterson is in essence subjecting iconic Bible stories to a Jungian reading. Peterson’s conception of creation is closer to the Manichaean than the Judeo-Christian.

It is sometimes worth trying to lay out certain key issues and truths that are worth fighting for. One such attempt is the recently released Antioch Declaration, "a statement on racial ideologies threatening the Church".

We look forward to Heaven, where we Christians will be reunited with those who have gone before. That is indeed a blessed hope for the believer. And it helps us endure the grief, suffering and pain that we may now be experiencing.

We were not saved just so that one day, we can go to be with our Lord and enjoy Him forever. Yes, that is our blessed hope, but until that time, we all have a job to do. We are all here on assignment. We each have a heavenly calling, a purpose which is unique to us.