David Platt, the pastor of a northern Virginia church, is explaining why he prayed for President Donald Trump.
Trump had made a surprise visit to the McLean Bible Church on Sunday. Platt, who is known for his non-partisan approach to preaching, faced a difficult decision, according to The Washington Post.
He ended up bringing Trump onstage and led the congregation in prayer for Trump, but he felt he owed churchgoers a detailed explanation why he did it.
And he did so in a letter posted on the church’s website.
“Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that we didn’t see coming, and we’re faced with a decision in a moment when we don’t have the liberty of deliberation, so we do our best to glorify God,” he said.
Acknowledging that some in the church ‘are hurt that I made this decision,” Platt added: “My aim was in no way to endorse the president, his policies, or his party, but to obey God’s command to pray for our president and other leaders to govern in the way this passage portrays."
The Rev. Franklin Graham had called for a day of prayer Sunday for Trump. And the White House said the president had stopped by the church to visit with Platt and pray for the victims in the deadly Virginia Beach, Virginia shootings.
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