Trump takes on The Terminator – in prayer

While Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull reels from the “on/off” firestorm of that refugee deal with the US, President Trump was having a go at iconic action man Arnold Schwarzenegger. At a public prayer event. Held each year in Washington DC, the National Prayer Breakfast is a major Christian gathering and every US President since the 1950s has attended it.

Addressing more than 2000 people, Trump took a shot at Schwarzenegger — who has replaced him as host of reality show The Apprentice.

“When I ran for president, I had to leave the show,” Trump explained. “They hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place. And we know how that turned out. The ratings went right down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster.”

“I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can.” These (lighthearted? jokey? sarcastic) comments and call for prayer follow a long-standing feud between The Apprentice hosts. Schwarzenegger swiftly replied:

The National Prayer Breakfast? pic.twitter.com/KYUqEZbJIE

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) February 2, 2017

Stop laughing. This is serious

Wondering who will win out of Trump and the Terminator might cause us to smile, but did you notice the serious stance suggested by the US President?

He called for a few thousand people to pray for Schwarzenegger. That’s a big deal.

Asking for prayer for someone isn’t like asking me to say something nice to you, or you speaking nicely about me to someone else.

Prayer is talking to God. God. Yes, GOD.

Trump’s call was a call for a room full of people to talk to God about Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Trump seems to be making a joke of that call — and it’s not like God’s got no sense of humour. We live in a world where I’m writing about a president and Hollywood superstar having an argument about who is better on TV.

The president is right

But “I want to just pray for” shouldn’t be a joke to us. Prayer isn’t a punchline; prayer is a direct line to the Master of the Universe.

As you smirk for one second at Trump vs Terminator, why not spend a little bit more time getting into a bit of prayer? A little can go a long way and even if the US President is treating prayer like a tweet, we shouldn’t. Because we know God actually wants us to do what Trump calls for: prayer for others (Matthew 5:44; Ephesians 6:18; James 5:14-16; 1 John 5:14-15)

Ben McEachen