Breaking–beloved Gwen Shaw, founder of End-Time Handmaidens, passed on this afternoon to be with the Lord.

Someone noted how the political figures I most prayed for throughout 2012–Barack Obama and Michele Bachmann–both won their elections. It’s been a running joke how very few Americans actually have this bragging right…

I still pray regularly for them both. And I truly believe in their greatness as leaders.

As President Obama’s inauguration draws near, I want to take a break from the clash of current ideologies and view his legacy from a different vantage point–including a prophetic perspective. Below are a few things I really like about our president, that inspire me to pray for him.

Legitimizing Fathering & Family
Most who know the president personally are taken by his affectionate devotion to his wife and children. My guess is that when many see the Obamas, they don’t first think of economic policies or homeland security issues. They first see a family walking out the relational aspirations we all long for–success in family and life.

We live in an era where at least 1/3 of American children across the spectrum are fatherless, and almost 3/4 of black children are born to unwed mothers. To have a dad–that was the tenth most popular request to Santa this year!

Perhaps the greatest contribution President Obama has made to American culture is to prove, by his life and legacy, the legitimacy of fathering. Our President himself grew up fatherless, as he has candidly shared. It is inspiring how, from this brokenness, he has gained such fulfillment in setting a new course for himself and his family.

Remember our verse for 2013–how God “rescues the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers” (Jer. 20:13). What if a new movement of godly fathering, rescuing life, were to break forth and take our land by storm? I might even be prophesying here. Because if we’re truly going to have this New Birth of Freedom, wholeness in fathering and family is actually our greatest need.

Pro Life President? Well…
Is President Obama pro-life? Not in policy, but perhaps in legacy. He could actually be the poster child for the unimaginable potential of LIFE. In the 1950s, the president’s mother became pregnant during a romance with a Kenyan student. He left, and she had a decision to make. As a young white woman carrying a black baby in her womb in an era of intense prejudice, her entire future was at stake. To keep this child was potentially to face a life of persecution.

She had many options–including abortion. But Obama’s mother chose to value the life in her womb more than the ease of life she could have by simply “moving on.” And this child not only broke barriers by making it through high school or college… HE BECAME THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Inauguration–With Bibles from Lincoln and King
This is the legacy I celebrate as President Obama places his hand on the Bible and takes his oath of office. Remarkably, he is actually placing his hand on two Bibles–one owned by President Lincoln, and one by Dr. Martin Luther King!

President Obama is honoring the legacies of two Moses for America–one white, one black–both with an unrelenting prayer still pulsating before the throne of God’s justice. That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom…

The phrase “under God” is the key. Unless our freedom is rooted and grounded in covenant with the God of Moses, the notion itself tends towards idolatry, sin and subjugation. That was the true point of Moses’ exodus, of Lincoln’s quest for a new birth of freedom, and of Dr. King’s freedom journey for our nation.

I have shared prophetically how President Obama stands between Moses and Pharaoh. Which direction will he go? As you will see, Moses faced this same choice, fully settled his identity-issue, and fulfilled his calling in God to release a new birth of freedom.

For this reason, it is my ardent prayer that President Obama fully choose covenant alignment with the God of Moses as he places his hand upon these sacred Bibles and renders his oath to Him, to peers in government, and to the citizens of this land.

Between Moses & Pharaoh
Pharaoh obviously called for the abortion of God’s covenant seed–with Moses as a primary target. Like President Obama, Moses escaped the scourge of abortion. He went on to lead an exodus from idolatry, subjugation and slavery that has ignited a dream for freedom in every culture.

Moses himself faced a choice similar to President Obama–and Lincoln and King. This identity issue had to be settled before Moses could truly become a deliverer.

Remember how Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s wife, and grew up in Pharaoh’s household. He learned the language of Egypt, the culture of Egypt, the mystery religions of Egypt–above all the power structure of Egypt. In fact, from his infancy he was groomed to be a Pharaoh.

No Other Gods
Have you ever wondered why Moses didn’t just ascend the ladder of power, become a global ruler, and as Pharaoh decree freedom for Israel? Wouldn’t this have been an easier way?

Yet to become a Pharaoh, a candidate had to bow his knee to the gods of Egypt–to compromise God’s covenant by worshiping Osiris, Isis, Set, etc.

Remember, this is the guy who recorded the words, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Yet in a very real way, Moses was tempted to fulfill his calling through a rise to power apart from covenant alignment with God.

Jesus faced the very same temptation, as do many leaders today. Just bow your knee to me and all these kingdoms will be yours…

Worship is an expression of covenant that touches the core of our being. It changes us, and it changes our allegiance. It changes how we perceive truth, and whether or not we truly obey God and His word. In due course, by God’s hand, Moses shifted from an identity tied to Egypt to embracing an identity as a worshiper of the Living God.

Friends, President Obama holds an office rightly perceived as the most powerful in the world. We cannot imagine the temptation faced by by him–and by his predecessors–to compromise allegiance with the Lord Jesus Christ.

As he places his hand on the two Bibles this Monday, the most important thing we can do is to pray. Pray for President Obama to experience an unlocked heart of worship to Jesus Christ. Pray for perception of evil, deliverance from evil, and true covenant alignment with the God of his predecessors, Abraham, King, and Moses.