How I’m praying about politics

With my country’s national elections only several weeks away, the subject of government is certainly on my mind. These days it would seem almost impossible not to have strong personal opinions about what should or shouldn’t be done, or about who should or shouldn’t be elected. There seems to be so much at stake.

We each have much to contribute in praying about politics – and it isn’t our political opinions that are needed in order to pray effectively! As a student of Christian Science, I’ve learned that the effective place to begin prayer is with God. Affirming that God alone governs is a powerful prayer, and in particular the Bible says of God’s government: “The kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations” (Psalms 22:28).

Effective prayer doesn’t involve requesting a certain preconceived outcome, even when it comes to national or local elections. It can be a challenge to set aside personal convictions about what is important and right for our country and the world. But, if we pray with a specific outcome in mind, even if we have the best of motives, our prayer is almost certainly opposed to someone else’s well-intentioned prayer for the completely opposite outcome.

More importantly, praying for a specific outcome is an attempt, or at least a desire, to take the reins of government into our own hands – as if we knew best!

Recently I decided to take a different tack than outlining my favored disposal of events. I began to consistently acknowledge God’s righteous government, as Christ Jesus taught us to do in the Lord’s Prayer.

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of this news organization and a follower of Jesus, was asked numerous times to give a statement about her political views. She responded, “I am asked, ‘What are your politics?’ I have none, in reality, other than to help support a righteous government; to love God supremely, and my neighbor as myself” (“The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany,” p. 276).

This seemed like a good template to use. I began to pray to see more of the righteous government of God in my own life and recognize this divine governance to be the reality even where we seem to be seeing the opposite.

On this basis of understanding what is spiritually true, we can pray for God’s hand to be seen in all aspects of government, including local and national elections. We can pray to know that God’s Word governs the thoughts and acts of politicians and voters alike, and that the divine guidance needed to form and enact policies that are fair and just to all is always coming to the men and women in leadership positions. And no matter who occupies a position of authority, we can pray to know that person is a child of God, and that God’s children reflect the wisdom of divine Mind, the compassion of divine Love, and the integrity of divine Truth.

Our prayers for the world must include faith in the allness of God, Spirit, and His government of the universe.

The opposite of prayer is fretting and reacting. I found myself engaged in this kind of unprayerful thinking not too long ago. In reaction to so much of what I was hearing, seeing, and reading, I would frequently shake my head and think, “This country is just so divided!”

Then it hit me. Why would I agree to such a thought? I reasoned that God would never create ideas that were at odds with each other. That would ensure chaos.

As God is the only creator, His ideas blend in sweet harmony and for the sole purpose of showing forth His glory.

This thought alleviated my distress and gave me a concrete way to pray to address the inharmony that seems so prevalent. Since then, I have felt empowered to consistently bring a prayerful thought to situations where there seems to be intractable division, knowing from my own experience that harmony results from inspired prayer.

As we each pray for our own countries, and for all the countries of the world, we can follow this biblical request: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (I Timothy 2:1, 2).

The world will be blessed as we see that it’s not our opinions that are needed, but our prayer to acknowledge and accept that God’s divine wisdom and love govern all mankind.