The international Christian charity Samaritan's Purse has defended the controversial political position of its President, Franklin Graham, who has expressed his support for Donald Trump.

The famous evangelist, who read from Scripture at Trump's January inauguration, has implied that God's hand was present in the result of the presidential election 'to protect the nation for a few years'.

But in a statement issued to Christian Today, the relief charity pointed out that Graham, who has generally been guarded in his political comments, did not endorse any presidential candidate last year.

'In 2016, Franklin traveled across the United States to all 50 state capitals and encouraged Christians to pray for the election, pray for our country and its leaders, to engage by voting and also considering whether to run for office themselves, and to live and promote biblical principles at home and in public,' a spokesperson for Samaritan's Purse said. 'Hundreds of thousands of people came out to these events to pray for the country.

'During this series of events, Franklin did not endorse any political candidates or legislation, and no candidates or current public officials spoke at any of the rallies.

'Franklin maintained a consistent message about the importance of praying for our leaders and he continues to share that message today.'

In December, Graham said: 'I think maybe God has allowed Donald Trump to win this election to protect this nation for the next few years by giving maybe an opportunity to have some good judges.'

He added: 'Even though Donald Trump has some rough edges, there's something inside of him that desires the counsel of Christian men and women, and I don't know one Christian on Hillary Clinton's team.'

At the presidential inauguration on 20 January, Graham said: 'Mr. President, in the Bible, rain is a sign of God's blessing. And it started to rain, Mr. President, when you came to the platform.'

Graham read a passage from Paul's First Letter to Timothy, chapter 2, which calls for prayers for all people, including 'kings and for all those in authority, that we may live peacefully quiet lives in all godliness and holiness'.

Samaritan's Purse pointed to a quote from Graham, saying: 'I don't have hope in any political party, but I do believe that God's principles work and can help our nation. We should continue to pray for our country and our leaders, especially our new President.'

After Trump's inauguration Graham stressed the need to pray for our president during an interview with NBC News: 'We have to pray that President Trump does well. Because if he does well, we all do well as a nation.'