I’m posting this blog a day early because tomorrow, Tuesday, national elections will absorb many of us. Who will have time to read a semi-silly blog on growing older? (Or to write it?) Besides there are things I want to say that work better before than after.
At the retirement community we don’t talk about it in public. It’s like that elephant in the room everyone smells but pretends they don’t. It’s policy. We’re instructed not to talk politics in community spaces, like the halls, the dining room, or the auditorium. We’re not to post partisan messages on our apartment doors or the public bulletin boards. Hush hush. But among our own tribe (we know who we are) and behind closed doors, it brings a certain relief to share our angers, fears, and hopes.
Right now, it’s the not-knowing that wracks our nerves. As aging people facing so many “normal” changes, another important Thing that we don’t know can be worrisome, to say the least. So we wait and try to figure out how to pray.
Tuesday evening down in our lobby, we’ll have a pre-election sing-a-long—hymns and folksongs. That might help and I intend to participate. A church I attend digitally in Minnesota is having an election night worship service which I also plan to attend. Other than that, I will avoid the television. I’m nervous enough anyway. I’ll probably isolate myself somewhere and work on puzzles.
It's been hard to know how to pray. I know what I believe, but I hesitate to tell God, “Knock so-n-so out of the race,” or “Let the other so-n-so win.” Can I presume to know the will of Sovereign God? Or can I even presume to concede that whoever wins is obviously God’s chosen? No. All of that is heresy. Lots of things happen that are not the will of a God who gives us free will and therein messes up world history (with a promise to fix it all in the end).
I’ve looked through the prayer books I have—The Book of Common Prayer, The Oxford Book of Prayer, The Celtic Daily Prayer Book, and a few others. Nowhere can I find a prayer to pray before an election.
And then I remembered the Lord’s Prayer. Aha! I’ve learned to use this prayer for many specific occasions. It covers the ground and shows a way. It was, after all, the instructions Jesus gave when his disciples asked him to teach them to pray. It continues to teach us. So I used this prayer to craft a pre-election prayer for God’s people. It can also serve as a post-election prayer, something our nation will need a lot of. Here goes:
Our Father, who lives in heaven,
Hallowed be your name. However this election turns out, may your name be praised, honored, and lifted up throughout our land. No matter if we’re overjoyed or dismayed by the results, help us see that you are greater than our government, greater than our nation, the Lord of the whole world and all the starry universe. Hallowed be your name!
Your Kingdom come. You are the King. You are sovereign over all nations. Your authority is greater than that of presidents, senators, governors, the media, and even “we, the people.” You bring rain to dry fields, comfort to the mourning, homes to the refugees, wisdom to rulers. You cause miracles to happen and wars to cease. Your Kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. We don’t presume to know your will in this election. But whatever the result, we do know that you will for reason, hope, and peace to prevail. We know that your will is for justice to come to the oppressed and downtrodden. We pray that you will raise up leaders, women and men who hunger and thirst after righteousness and justice. We pray for a place for the pure in heart and a welcome to the stranger. Your will be done.
Give us this day our daily bread. You know what we really need. Give food, clean water, and a place to live to the people of North Carolina. Grant peace and security to people seeking safety from hopeless and violent situations. Give honesty and clarity to our election process, both before and after. Give the wisdom and faith we so desperately need to move forward in these frightening times.
Forgive us our sins and as we forgive the sins of others. Spirit of reconciliation, raise up women and men with a heart for reconciliation. Give us confident humility so that we can build bridges to those other than us. Grant us the ability to say “I’m wrong” and “I’m sorry.” Give us the generosity of heart to say, “I forgive you.” Let the Spirit do this work in each one of us and throughout our nation.
Lead us not into trials too hard for us to bear. After the election, raise up peacemakers whose words and actions can bring calm to ragged emotions and disappointed hopes. Quench the fires of hate and mistrust with the waters of your Spirit. Spare us the violence that would rip our nation apart.
Deliver us from the Evil One. Thwart the strategies of satan. We come against the spirits of hatred, division, and violence. Free us from those who would sow deception and chaos. Deliver us from the evil that resides in our own hearts. Come, Spirit of God, deliver us.
To you alone belong the Kingdom, the power, and the glory. Forever.
Amen.
