Praying in an election year and beyond
Around 2 billion people are due to head to the polls in this “year of the election” (see Ned Temko, “In record year for elections, will democracy prevail?” Jan. 11, 2024). Many important issues seem to hang in the balance as leaders old and new come into their roles. Can prayer help us to experience positive outcomes?
We’ve selected several pieces from this column's archives, each of which points to God’s harmonious government as something we can pray to know and prove. Each of these pieces describes how the author has been led to contribute their own deeply felt prayers before, during, and after elections.
As we run for office or prepare to vote, we can value meekness as a quality that allows God’s all-blessing solutions to come to light, the writer of “Voting for humility” shares.
“How I’m praying about elections in Zimbabwe” details the impact of affirming in prayer the spiritual truth that God’s children are wholly good and thus seeing more of God’s attributes expressed in our leaders and government, even when political candidates have used negative messaging.
We’re not powerless when leadership acts unjustly, as the writer of “Prayers for Belarus” found in her workplace when she understood more deeply that nothing is standing in the way of God caring for His children.
The good we want to see expressed for our country can’t be confined to a particular person or party. Prayer can show us how God expresses the values we hold dear everywhere, the writer of “Postelection prayers” shares.
