Tonight we gathered at my church, and for two hours we prayed for our nation, sang the songs that remind us Who is in control, and spoke encouragement and admonition to one another. We prayed for George W. Bush and for Barack Obama and for John McCain. We confessed our individual sins to God, and we confessed the sins of our nation and asked for God’s mercy. We came boldly before the throne of our Sovereign and Messiah, and we asked him to preserve the lives of the unborn and the elderly and the disabled, no matter who is elected tomorrow. We asked Him who is able to heal marriages and families across our land. We asked Him to place the widows and the orphans into godly families. We asked Him to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers and the hearts of all to Jesus. We reminded ourselves that God still reigns, yesterday, today and tomorrow.
And tomorrow I will vote, and then I will leave this election and our nation in God’s hands. I hope that I will not sin by neglecting to pray for our country and for whomever God places in power. I plan to remember that whether we as a nation of voters elect Obama or McCain, and whether we elect a Republican Congress or a Democrat Congress, neither of those results will bring about the redemption and salvation of the people of the United States. We trust not in princes or presidents; we trust in the Lord. Tomorrow and for all the days after, we Christians will still be strangers in a land that is not our home. And I will serve Him in my place of service here in Houston, and on my blog, and in my home.
This is a time for faith and determination
Don’t lose the vision here
Carried away by emotion
Hold on to all that you hide in your heart
There is one thing that has always been true
It holds the world together
God is in control
We believe that His children will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside Him, we know
God is in control, oh God is in control
History marches on
There is a bottom line drawn across the ages
Culture can make its plan
Oh, but the line never changes
No matter how the deception may fly
There is one thing that has always been true
It will be true forever
He has never let you down
Why start to worry now?
He is still the Lord of all we see
And He is still the loving Father
Watching over you and me.
~God Is In Control by Twila Paris.
Amen to this prayer from The Book of Common Prayer via Wittingshire.
At The Point: A Prayer for our Nation from the Book of Daniel.
For more reasons and encouragement to vote, check out “Blog the Vote” at Chasing Ray, a round-up of thoughts on the importance of voting from across the blogosphere.
Wonderful post. Thank you!
Thanks for this post and the links. We serve a mighty God who has defeated sin and death. Our puny elections don’t keep Him from accomplishing His will. I’m so sad that Obama won, but “God is in control.”
Hello! I’m coming to this post late because it’s going to take me all week to read the Blog the Vote roundup. Thank you for your gracious post! I am hoping for good things to come in the years ahead.
Beautiful post.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”
Joshua 24:15