A Confession and Prayer on Election Day

Father,

I confess…

I can’t stop checking, and clicking, and refreshing, and taking one more glance at my phone. I’m forgetting you — the one who changes times and seasons, who removes kings and sets up kings, who gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding (Daniel 2:21).

That’s where I need you to do a work in my heart. I tell my family and my church that our hope is not in elections. We sing that we trust in the name of the LORD, not in chariots. We say we stand on the solid rock of Christ, not on the sinking sands of cultural trends and temporary leaders. We say we worship the living God and belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

And yet here I am — anxious, fearful, and looking for a Savior in a flawed democratic republic.

Forgive me. Forgive us. Our gaze has drifted to the wrong saviors, and our hopes and loves are aimed in the wrong direction. We are not as wise as you. Our thoughts are not your thoughts, and our ways are not your ways. We certainly don’t love this world as much as you do. You are the God who sent your Son not to condemn the world, but to save it.

Despite my disordered loves, thank you that you are for us and not against us. Thank you that, despite our feeble efforts to love you, our neighbors, and even our enemies, you continue to bind up the brokenhearted and care for the fatherless and the widow.

Thank you that you are not just loving; you are love itself. You showed it not by theory or good intentions, but by giving your Son, who laid down his life for sinners. I need to hear this over and over, so tell me again. Holy Spirit, seal it in my heart. Let the gospel be fresh this Election Day morning, louder than any news pundit, social media feed, or vote count.

Help me hold the political process as a gift of common grace, but not the whole feast of grace. There is a deeper grace, and a more hopeful one. Presidents and congressional leaders will come and go. Our lives will come and go. Give me a heart of wisdom. Keep me on the bedrock of Jesus, even as the ground of partisan politics shifts.

Lord, teach us to seek the welfare of our cities and to pray for them. Be with those who lead, those who serve, and those who count the votes. Be with the ones who win and the ones who lose. Give each of them humility and keep them from the idols of power and greed. Make us people who love our neighbors, whichever way they vote.

Make us humble. Keep us faithful. And help us, by your Spirit and grace, to be salt and light no matter the outcome.

Let our hearts rejoice and rest in you, the God who is not swayed by elections and who is outside of time, yet cares about every hair on our heads.

Grace always wins, even when our votes don’t go the way we hoped, or when they do.

Help me not forget these truths…

In the name of Jesus, our Savior, King of Kings, and Prince of Peace,
Amen.