Is he really the messiah?

I recently read a news article regarding President-elect Obama, which stated:

“Just two months ago, the future president seemed a cross between Superman and Merlin the magician, now he himself admits he won’t be able to keep all his promises, and who knows? Maybe someone will ask for his impeachment by the end of next week.”
(Massimo Gramellini, La Stampa Newspaper, Italy)

A similar article in a different publication reads:

“The idealism has diminished,” said Samuel Solvit, who heads an Obama support network in France. “Everyone was dreaming a little. Now people are more realistic.”

Muslims want to know why Obama hasn’t joined the chorus of international criticism of Israel’s Gaza offensive. Last week posters of him were set on fire in Tehran to shouts of “Death to Obama!”

This may well be the first time on record that a not-yet-sitting-president of the United States is burned in effigy because of an issue over which he has absolutely no control, even before he takes office. Recognizing the global frenzy that greeted his presidential nomination, it appears that, sadly a major shift has already begun to take place even before he has assumed office. This is no shocking surprise in the fickle and not-so-patient world in which we live. The weight of the world is, in a manner of speaking, resting squarely upon his rather narrow shoulders. Too many people have held him up to be the messiah for our current global crisis, contending that he will see us through the global economic, political, and social crises that seem to escalate daily.

The real truth is; he is no messiah! But, because we Christians know who is, and we know that all authority is given by God, we are encouraged… no, duty-bound to pray for him daily. Today’s prayer theme during our 21-day fast is: Prayer invites God’s will to earth. In our troubled world, we need more than the savvy of Obama’s pre-election promises. We need the wisdom and intervention of God’s divine will for our nation and indeed for our world. Here’s how 1 John 5: 14-15 puts it:

And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.

Let’s commit ourselves to pray today, and invite God’s will to earth as if our lives depended on it. Oops, what am I thinking? Our lives do depend on it. Let’s pray!