American believers now see why voting and praying for our leaders is so important: America has strayed from the biblical foundations seen in the Constitution where God granted liberties were spelled out. The news is filled with stories of attacks on our liberties.
By the grace of God and the power of prayer with our votes, we may regain stolen ground to see God restore the lands and freedoms which have been lost to the locusts of lies which came to kill steal and destroy.
When a Christian who is legally allowed to vote (and pray) refuses to do so, God weeps.
While the problems seem massive and the solutions incomprehensible, we are not called to have all the answers but to hear and obey God’s Word to continually pray for those in authority (and elect them whenever possible) that we “may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:2 NIV).
Don’t abandon America yet or the people she houses. God desires that none should suffer eternity in punishment. He waits for them to repent and return to Him like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
Whether you have voted before or not, it is time for each of us to repent and see God’s Word is greater than any political party and to seek the standards the Bible says we should use when lifting people up to the leadership level.
When a Christian who is legally allowed to vote in America refuses to vote (and pray), God weeps.
Each vote is a seed planted for the continuation of freedom, and each prayer is either watering the people voted for or pruning those already in authority whether they were elected or not. While God is in control, He has clearly given us prayer and, here in the United States, the vote as a way to glorify Him.
Failure to obey in these activities is a failure to apply the two Greatest Commandments where you love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and where you love your neighbor as yourself. May the Lord forgive us and then guide us in what to do.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you shouldn’t vote because you only see the lesser of two evils. Before a holy God, are we not all wicked except for a saving relationship with Jesus? The Bible clearly says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the Lord.
Don’t fall into the trap where people try to tell you not to vote for what you believe. With just a little questioning, the honest ones will admit they too vote for what they believe and want from the politicians. They will say who are you to judge what is moral and right, even as they go to the polls to vote for what they believe is right in their own hearts detached from God.
It is here where we learn what to pray for in our current and future leaders just as 1 Timothy 2:1-6 discusses and how to discern who is most worthy of our vote according to the Bible in Exodus 18:21
How, then, do we pray and vote biblically with our whole heart?
When Moses was looking for leaders to help him rule over the multitude of people, a guideline was offered by his father-in-law Jethro. David and Tim Barton discuss this in detail here or see the video at the end of the blog.
If the election has already occurred or there wasn’t an election for the person in authority, then pray God will work in each of their lives to either prune them to this standard (with the idea of their eventual salvation) or replace them with someone who will represent us like this:
“But select from all the people
some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes.”
Exodus 18:21a (NLT)
Capable/able: “Even if you love Jesus, if you’re not competent, I don’t want you as my leader,” said Tim Barton in the video. This is because you could actually end up giving Christians a bad name. Oddly, the Bible doesn’t start with faith but capability.
Honest/men of truth: David says this means having a standard of what’s right and wrong while Tim adds this helps them avoid the secular views of truth, morality, and how life should occur. Acknowledging truth is important in a leader.
Who fear God: “If they don’t believe there is a God, then they’re going to fall into the trap that government is god. And our rights don’t come from a Creator but from the government. Then all of a sudden that leader is going to be in favor of the socialism, the communism, the [dicatatorship] – all of the things we don’t want in America,” said Tim Barton in the video. David Barton adds we are looking for someone who is God-conscious, not secular conscious, even if they are not a believer in Christ.
Hate bribes/hate covetousness: They are not trying to profit themselves where they go in on government salaries and come out millionaires because they’ve gotten into it to build themselves up and their bank accounts too. Look for the leader who is going to consider what’s better for everyone else along with the other qualities listed above.
Together, these are a good representation of what we should pray for in our authorities currently in power, and what to vote for when given the next opportunity to express that freedom too.
What will God do with America?
We cannot know all of God’s plans, but we can be obedient to the plans God has clearly laid out. His plans with the current pains of life are long-term plans to save as many as are willing to repent and turn to Him.
Therefore, let’s be obedient by praying for current leaders may become more like those in Exodus 18:21 and if they harden their hearts to God’s pruning that God may raise up people who willingly fit within these standards.
This obedience will bring blessings in the near future, the forever eternity, or both. Maybe, God willing and us doing those things, it will save America in more ways than we can imagine, just like Ephesians 3:20 (ESV) reminds us, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”
By doing these things, we will have done our part as stewards to bring glory to God.
