By Gloria Robles
After 2020, many people became disheartened and disillusioned about voting. Many said if voting can be switched and elections can be stolen, why vote?
That question is precisely why we should pray about our elections. As Americans, we should care about the future of this nation and exercise our right to vote; the same applies to Christians. The only difference between the average American and the Christian American is our source of hope. The Lord is our anchor; we know He can do impossible things when we pray and act in faith.
Lessons from a Persistent Widow
We can earn much from God’s answer to the prayers of a persistent woman intent on getting justice.
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” (Luke 18:1–5, NLT).
Although we may feel discouraged about elections, we can fervently pray and do the following:
- Don’t Give Up. How does this story apply to praying for elections? First, Jesus shared this story with His disciples to illustrate persistence in prayer. The truth is, some Christians lost their faith in the election process. Just because people violated our trust and corrupted the process does not mean we should just give up.
Pray for Christians to awaken from passivity to bold faith.
- Show Up. This widow presented her case daily before the judge until she wore him out. After a while, the judge probably expected her arrival. The point was that she showed up. This is a major issue. Christians who do not vote shouldn’t complain about an unfavorable outcome when we have a chance to vote for our faith and values.
Pray for Christians to realize they have a voice through their vote.
- Make an Appeal. To appeal is to seek a higher court for a reversal of a lower court’s decision. We saw an injustice in our last election cycle. We may not have agreed with what our earthly courts decided, but we can appeal to heaven. Shall not the Judge of the earth make it right?
Pray that righteousness will prevail in these elections.
- Contend for Justice. This widow was constant. She would not settle for less than she deserved, which was justice. This kind of tenacity got the judge to render his verdict. God then says that if an earthly judge could render a just decision, how much more will God give justice to those who cry aloud day and night? We must have persistent faith.
Pray that any and every injustice will be exposed.
Our Role in Election Integrity
Christians often get stuck in complaint mode. What if we took that complaint and acted on it, like volunteering at the polling place and being the presence of Christ there?
If you cannot volunteer, you can pray at polling places. You can pray onsite or walk or do drive-by prayers, as I call them. Prayer is not limited to where, and it’s not about the quantity of prayer; it’s about the quality of our hearts.
- Pray for believers with integrity who will be led to volunteer at polling places.
- Pray onsite at polling locations for God’s will to be done in our elections.
- Pray that all matters of dishonesty and corrupt acts will be exposed.
- Pray for divine intervention in our elections and concerning the nation.
In every election cycle, there is a tangible sense of urgency, and the 2024 elections will be no different.
The 2020 elections showed us anything can happen. We cannot predict the outcome, but we can humble our hearts before the Lord and ask for divine intervention for our nation. May He once again grant us the truths of Luke 1:50: “His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.”
INTERCESSORS FOR AMERICA (ifapray.org) has mobilized prayer for this nation for 50 years. Gloria Robles is an IFA contributing writer.
