Were you as shocked as I was at 6:11 pm on July 13^th when Donald Trump was struck by a bullet from an assassin’s gun?  He fell to the ground. Watching the Secret Service agents swarm over him, I prayed that he was not dead or mortally wounded.

In less than a minute from the shots ringing out, former President Trump was standing and appeared to protest as the Secret Service tried to hustle him off the stage. Mr. Trump then turned to the crowd and with an expression of defiance, raised his fist and shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

View Comments (0)

How very Trumpian! Fearless even.

That historic moment was captured by a photographer in an image that is sure to become as iconic as the pictures of the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima or of President Bush standing on the rubble of the Twin Towers speaking into a bullhorn.

But I couldn’t help but wonder, why were those words the first ones President Trump uttered after being shot at? Why not, “I’m okay!” or “God Bless America!” or “Freedom!”

Why the call to fight?

Many in the media chided Trump for his immediate call to his supporters to fight. He was told by CNN to “tamp down the rhetoric.” CBS fretted that there was no attempt by Mr. Trump to tell his supporters to not retaliate.  ABC knee-jerked into victim-blaming mode suggesting Mr. Trump is to blame for his own assassination attempt.

The day after the shooting, Mr Trump explained that he thought it was “essential to get out the message at that moment to continue to fight to make America great again.”

It was no surprise then that ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ became the delegates’ booming rallying cry at the Republican National Convention complete with raised fists.

I don’t disagree that we should fight for the principles upon which our country was founded by men of Christian faith. The Declaration of Independence states, “We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

The Constitution goes further in the Bill of Rights to lay out our freedoms — freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble, and others. Our rights and freedoms are worth fighting for, as is our country.

But Scripture tells us, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord’s” (Psalm 33:12). With that in mind, perhaps the question we as Christians should be asking is:

What does God want us to fight for?

Paul in his first letter to Timothy urged him to “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” (1 Timothy 6:12).

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul confirmed that this is indeed what he had done himself, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

When Paul wrote the second letter to Timothy he was in a Roman prison, condemned for execution. He knew he would die very soon. Chapter 4 of Second Timothy is literally Paul’s last recorded words. Paul sent Timothy this solemn charge to fight for the truth of the gospel, to preserve it, and to pass it on to others. For Paul, nothing was more important.

For God’s truth is precious and sacred and comes second to no other ideology – religious, cultural or political.

When the truth of our sovereign God is threatened, maligned, mocked, or ignored, we must stand and fight for the gospel with the weapons God provides. We are to fight against God’s enemy who is our enemy – the devil, his darkness and evil.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against… the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12-13).

Not only has God revealed who the enemy is, He gives us the weapons to fight and win.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:13).

God also gives us His full armor to stand against the devil’s schemes – the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (see Ephesians 6:10-17). Then He trains our hands for war, and our fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1).

Instead of fighting for Trump’s MAGA, let’s fight to Make Almighty God Great Again (MAGGA) in our nation, which will result in revival, healing and the Lord’s blessings. God has already promised us the victory (2 Chronicles 7:14-16).

How do we fight as Christians and Intercessors?

First, we humbly seek God and His righteousness. We keep our focus firmly on Him and give Him all the glory (Matthew 6:33).

We revere Jesus as Christ and Lord in our hearts. We stand ready to defend God’s Word and share the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15).

Second, we study Scripture, so the word of Christ dwells in us teaching and admonishing us in all wisdom (Colossians 3:16). We declare the gospel fearlessly  (Ephesians 6:20).

Next, we call on the Lord who listens to us and we devote ourselves to prayer (Jeremiah 29:12). Whatever we ask in His name will be done and God will be glorified (John 14:13). The Lord delights in our prayers (Proverbs 15:8).

Then, we praise God because he is great and worthy of all our praises (Psalm 145:3) and our praises silence the devil (Psalm 8:2).

We as Intercessors are fighting this battle on many fronts — in politics, in government, in culture, in media, in work, in schools, in families, and in churches. But we worship and pray to a living God where nothing is impossible (Luke 1:47), and while He makes us ready for battle, the victory already belongs to Him (Proverbs 21:31).

So we fight the fight of faith in His power, praying in the Spirit, and boldly asking in the name of Jesus. We trust in His will for us and our nation knowing if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

So Christian, let us Fight! Fight! Fight!

To help guide you in your prayers please see Praying for America’s Return.

Belinda Brewster analyzes cultural, political, and world events from a biblical worldview. Belinda’s passion is to equip, support, and encourage parents and grandparents who are courageously battling against the spiritual and cultural forces impacting children and grandchildren. Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images.