A Prayer for God to Lead Us in Voting on Election Day
By Lynette Kittle
Bible Reading
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good” - Titus 3:1
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With all the controversy and issues surrounding American voting over the years, many individuals, including some Christians, may wonder if it even matters if they vote. Still, as Christians, we are called to vote in a way that honors, pleases, and reflects God’s ways, as Deuteronomy 30:16 instructs, “For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.” Likewise, Deuteronomy 30:19 urges, “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
What Election Day Represents
30th U.S. President, Calvin Coolidge, stated on April 19, 1926, that “Election day in the olden times was generally considered more or less sacred,” writes author, historian, and speaker William J. Federer in his book Silence Equals Consent: The Sin of Omission.
From the beginning of the United States of America, Election Day was not to be taken lightly. Federer notes that in America’s early days, “New England pastors understood that since Jesus never forced anyone to follow Him, they could not either. The Kingdom of God was not to be forced top-down by a theocratic king. The only way for it to happen was if the majority of people held godly values and willingly voted for representatives holding those same values. Then laws would be passed reflecting those values, and the values of the Kingdom of God could come voluntarily, from the bottom-up.”
Likewise, writes Federer, Coolidge encouraged voters to approach Election Day with an attitude of reverence towards God. “I therefore urge upon all the voters of our country…that they assemble tomorrow at their respective voting places in the exercise of the high office of American citizenship, that they approach the ballot box in the spirit that they would approach a sacrament…make their choice of public officers solely in the light of their own conscience. When an election is so held, when a choice is so made, it … sustains the belief that the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
What Election Day Accomplishes
How we vote as Christians establishes who we ultimately serve. It proclaims what Psalm 119:30 proclaims: “I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on Your laws.”
Who we vote for reveals what our hearts and minds truly believe. It’s not just casting a vote for a certain candidate or particular political party, but rather it’s making a declaration of our faith.
As Joshua 24:15 declared, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
The future of our nation begins with us, believers in Jesus Christ. As 2 Chronicles 7:14 reminds us, “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father,
Lead me this national Election Day to vote for the people who seek to follow Your ways, those who honor You by the choices they make as leaders in our nation. Help me to look to You in how I vote, being willing to choose Your truth and the policies and laws that please You, over and above current cultural and trendy practices and beliefs. Let Your Spirit lead me and our nation in voting to uphold what aligns with Your word in all that we do across our land. Release a humbleness across our country, where we as a people turn away from sin and turn toward You, O Lord.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Royalty-free
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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