Lord, teach us to pray. Luke 11:1

Today is Election Day. Thankfully, tomorrow this overly long, divisive and disturbing political campaign will be over.  Tomorrow we the people will have voted. Tomorrow there will be a new President to lead the United States into the future. But today is still undecided; there are hours to be lived out in our faith.

We Christians have much at stake in this election and today thousands will be on their knees praying, especially God’s Word in 2 Chronicles 7:14

¹⁴ 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. 2 Chronicles 7:14

The Holy Spirit is undeniably convicting us to repent individually, corporately and nationally.  Today our prayers should be less about voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton and more about affirming God’s authority, not man’s. Pray, therefore, surrendering to His Will and then trust Him for the outcome. His will is known through the Scriptures; the outcome is His mystery to reveal.

When unclear about my payers,  I can turn to the Lord. No one prayed like Jesus. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, as John had taught his disciples. They wanted to be identified with Jesus.  It is obvious that Jesus’s prayer life impacted the disciples greatly. Jesus responded:

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew  6:9-13

It is the model prayer. There is nor greater prayer composed for God’s will to be done on earth as in heaven. Throughout, Jesus affirms the supremacy and holiness of God as our Father. It acknowledges complete trust in God for every spiritual and physical need. We call out to forgive and be forgiven. We seek guidance from straying into our temptations  and protection from the demonic powers. And finally we give back to God all the honor, power and the glory.

Today, November 8, 2016 prayers about the election cannot usurp God’s  will.  Above anything else, they must affirm God’s kingdom, authority, power and glory in our lives, placing the Father, not politicians on the throne of our hearts. Jesus instructed how and to whom to pray. The Word is pretty clear even for  this Election Day. Anything else, we wander dangerously into  arenas  of idol worship.