Pray and Vote

Today we must do more than pray we must vote.

Today, on this very important election day for America, I woke up early to pray. As I prayed, my thoughts turned to the time when the Israelites told Samuel they wanted a king like the other nations. I encourage you to read 1 Samuel 8 (Easy English Version).

The Israelites ask for a king

8 When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges for the Israelites.^{[a] 2} The name of his firstborn son was Joel. The name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba town. ³ But Samuel's sons did not live in a good way, as Samuel had done. They took money from people in ways that were not honest. They accepted bribes so that they did not judge in a fair way.

⁴ So all of Israel's leaders went together to meet Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, ‘You are old. Your sons do not live in the way that you have done. All the other nations have kings to lead them. So choose a king to rule over us, like they have.’

⁶ When Israel's leaders said, ‘Choose a king who will lead us,’ Samuel was not happy. So he prayed to the Lord. ⁷ The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to everything that the people are saying to you. I myself should be their king. So it is not you that they refuse to accept. It is me that they do not accept to be their king. ⁸ They are doing what they have always done. Since I brought them out of Egypt they have continued to turn away from me. They have chosen to serve other gods. Now they are turning against you in the same way. ⁹ So do what they are asking you to do. But warn them about what will happen. Tell them how their kings will rule over them.’

¹⁰ Samuel spoke to the people who had asked him to give them a king. He told them everything that the Lord had said to him. ¹¹ Samuel said to them, ‘This is how the king will rule over you: He will take your sons to be his soldiers. They will ride his horses and they will drive his chariots. They will have to run in front of his own chariot. ¹² The king will choose some of your sons to be officers in his army. Some will be leaders of 1,000 soldiers. Others will be leaders of 50 soldiers. Some of your sons will have to plough the king's fields. They will have to cut his crops at harvest time. They will have to make weapons for the king to fight wars. They will have to fix his chariots. ¹³ The king will take your daughters to serve him. They will have to make perfume for him. They will also have to cook and bake bread for him. ¹⁴ The king will take your best fields, vines and olive trees away from you. He will give all these to his own officers. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth part of all your seeds and grapes. He will give them to his officers and servants. ¹⁶ He will take your male and female servants for himself. He will take your best cows and your donkeys. He will use them for his own work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of all your sheep and your goats. You yourselves will become his servants too. ¹⁸ Then you will complain loudly to the Lord about your king that you have chosen to lead you. But the Lord will not answer you when you do that.’

¹⁹ But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, ‘No! We want a king to rule us. ²⁰ We want to be like all the other nations! We want a king to rule us. He will be our leader when we go to fight our enemies.’

²¹ Samuel listened to everything that the people said. Then he told the Lord about it all. ²² The Lord said to Samuel, ‘You must do what they want. You must give a king to them.’

Then Samuel told Israel's people, ‘Return to your own towns, each of you.’

The people rejected God and asked for a king. Despite Samuel’s warnings about the consequences of demanding a king, they insisted on one instead of trusting in God. So, God granted their request. Ever since, we've been living with the results of that choice. But now, instead of giving 10 percent to the government as they once did, we pay up to 37 percent of our income to the federal government.

Today, many Christians choose not to vote or get involved in politics because they feel there is no truly righteous candidate. News flash: no one is righteous. As Romans 3:10 says, "As it is written, 'There is none righteous, no, not one.'"

Today, our decision is about who will fight for policies that preserve life, reduce our debt so we are no longer slaves to the lender, and protect our borders and U.S. citizens. That choice, in my view, is Trump, not Harris. Until Jesus returns, we are tasked with choosing between flawed men and women. We must select the one we believe is the least flawed—just as we do when choosing employees, friends, or spouses. We choose not the most righteous, but the one we believe to be the least flawed.

We all know this verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” I believe that those who are called by His name are praying, but there is more to this verse than just praying. We must also humble ourselves, seek God, and turn from our wicked ways. As Christians, we have a tremendous opportunity to show the world what happens when God’s people humble themselves, pray, seek, repent—and then go vote. Voting isn’t a one-time action; this is just the beginning for those who are called by His name. So, stay armored up, ready to work, and prepared to fight for our nation—a nation founded by flawed men who understood that only God can heal our land.