We, Faith Leaders for America, call upon the nation to pray for President-Elect Trump as he prepares to be inaugurated tomorrow as president of the United States. Why? Because it’s the biblical thing to do. In Hebrew scripture, the prophet Samuel thought it would be a sin not to pray for King Saul. In Christian scripture, the apostle Paul wrote that we should all pray for all who are in authority. Paul’s specific request here was that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.

This fits exactly with his teaching elsewhere that the government officials are God’s ministers who administer justice against evil. Good government is God’s way of protecting us against the evildoers. The sacred scriptures are clear: Maintaining law and order is the top responsibility of government.

With this in mind, our primary prayer for President Trump is that he will succeed in his God-given assignment of keeping the peace. Defending Americans against all enemies, foreign and domestic, should be the top presidential priority from day one.

From the Middle East to Europe, from Africa to America, the evil spectre of Islamic jihad has reared its ugly head again and again to threaten, torture, maim and kill. Now is the time to pray for our new president to counter this death cult.

This means we must pray for him to have wisdom to know what is right. We must also pray that he will have courage and strength to do what is right.

We, Faith Leaders for America, formally begin these prayers today. And by standing here, we not only promise our prayers but also our support for the new president in this task.

President-Elect Trump, tomorrow you will become the president of the United States. We, Faith Leaders for America, want you to know you have our prayerful support as you begin to counter jihad and protect Americans from Islamic terrorism.

When you label the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, we support you.

When you call Islamic terrorism what it is, Islamic extremism, we support you.

When you stop the mass importation of unvetted immigrants from areas that harbour, train, and send out jihadists, we support you.

When you require appropriate extreme vetting for those who do enter the USA from these same areas, we support you.

In other words, President-Elect Trump, we’ve got your back. Some religious leaders falsely contend that these actions would violate religious freedom. Actually, we know these steps are proper, legal, and necessary to protect our First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech, press, and assembly.

Of greater importance, these measures are necessary to protect innocent human life. There are no countries or cultures dominated by the Islamic jihadists where it’s safe to convert to Christianity, practice Judaism, or other non-Islamic faiths—or, in any other way, criticize Islam. We must not import shariah supremacists who do not love America, freedom, or the constitutional principles upon which our nation was founded. America is the land of the free because it is the home of the brave.

President-Elect Trump, you’ve been brave to speak out recently on these issues. We, Faith Leaders for America, stand here today as a visible sign that we’ll stand with you when you take these and other vital actions to protect American citizens and their freedoms.

More importantly, we pray that God may give you wisdom to do this in a proper way, courage to do it in a bold way, and strength to do it in an effective way.

May God save and bless America.