{"id":15043,"date":"2026-11-03T19:34:01","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T23:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/?p=15043"},"modified":"2026-11-03T19:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T23:39:17","slug":"an-election-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/?p=15043","title":{"rendered":"An Election Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fallen<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s Election Day, and the leaves have mostly fallen. My church has opened up a small chapel today for prayer, but I decided to go with writing a psalm about what’s on my heart and posting that prayer online.<\/p>\n

My heart is full. A Methodist pastor whose books I’ve already read and reviewed<\/a> is running for U.S. Senate in Kansas. A Senate candidate in Texas is openly talking about the idea that we are all God’s children. And a college friend, Sam Powell<\/a>, is running for state senate in Minnesota. He’s a former pastor who was removed from his church for speaking up for women and other vulnerable people. I completely love his slogan: “Courage, Compassion, Community.” Yes! May we grow that in the whole country.<\/p>\n

But my friends and I are feeling a lot of fear. Fear that there will be cheating, whether invisibly by computer or visibly by suppressing votes. And lots of fear that results will be disputed if the outcome isn’t what crooked people want. <\/p>\n

In praying for the election, I am going to turn to Messianic Psalms<\/a>, because they are Psalms for seeking justice. They are Psalms that remind us that, one day, God is going to bring justice.<\/p>\n

Now, Messianic Psalms don’t have a clear form, and contain a wide variety of approaches. I’m thinking today, lest I appear to be too political, I’m going to mostly quote Scripture in my prayer. As for whom I’m talking about? If the shoe fits….<\/p>\n

A Prayer for our Elections<\/p>\n

Father and Creator, we come before you at a turning point in our nation.
\nWe ask you to intervene and to guide for the cause of justice.<\/p>\n

As things are going now:
\n“The wicked accept bribes in secret
\n to pervert the course of justice.” (Proverbs 17:23)<\/p>\n

“[Our] rulers are rebels,
\npartners with thieves;
\nthey all love bribes
\nand chase after gifts.” (Isaiah 1:23)<\/p>\n

People from ICE “lie in wait near the villages;
\nfrom ambush they murder the innocent.
\nTheir eyes watch in secret for their victims;
\nlike a lion in cover they lie in wait.
\nThey lie in wait to catch the helpless;
\nthey catch the helpless and drag them off in their net.
\nTheir victims are crushed, they collapse;
\nthey fall under their strength.
\nThey say to themselves ‘God will never notice;
\nhe covers his face and never sees.'” (Psalm 10:8-11)<\/p>\n

“They slay the widow and the foreigner;
\nthey murder the fatherless.
\nThey say, ‘The Lord does not see;
\nthe God of Jacob takes no notice.” (Psalm 94:6-7)<\/p>\n

“Can a corrupt throne [government] be allied with you –
\na throne [government] that brings on misery by its decrees?
\nThe wicked band together against the righteous
\nand condemn the innocent to death.” (Psalm 94:20-21)<\/p>\n

And so we pray with your people through the ages:<\/p>\n

“But the Lord has become my fortress,
\nand my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
\nHe will repay them for their sins
\nand destroy them for their wickedness;
\nthe Lord our God will destroy them.” (Psalm 94:22-23)<\/p>\n

Creator, I’m praying that their power to harm
\nwill be utterly destroyed,
\nand that their evil deeds
\nwill be called to account.<\/p>\n

“Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
\nDo not forget the helpless.
\nWhy does the wicked man revile God?
\nWhy does he say to himself,
\n‘He won’t call me to account’?
\nBut you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
\nyou consider their grief and take it in hand.
\nThe victims commit themselves to you;
\nyou are the helper of the fatherless.
\nBreak the arm of the wicked man;
\ncall the evildoer to account for his wickedness
\nthat would not be found out.”<\/p>\n

For the rich who are using our government to get richer, may this come to pass:<\/p>\n

“Now listen, you rich people,
\nweep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.
\nYour wealth has rotted,
\nand moths have eaten your clothes.
\nYour gold and silver are corroded.
\nTheir corrosion will testify against you
\nand eat your flesh like fire.
\nYou have hoarded wealth in the last days.
\nLook! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields
\nare crying out against you.
\nThe cries of the harvesters
\nhave reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
\nYou have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.
\nYou have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
\nYou have condemned and murdered the innocent one,
\nwho was not opposing you.” (James 5:1-6)<\/p>\n

May we see with our own eyes that this is true:<\/p>\n

“[The Lord] is the Maker of heaven and earth,
\nthe sea, and everything in them –
\nhe remains faithful forever.
\nHe upholds the cause of the oppressed
\nand gives food to the hungry.
\nThe Lord sets prisoners free,
\nthe Lord gives sight to the blind,
\nthe Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
\nthe Lord loves the righteous.
\nThe Lord watches over the foreigner
\nand sustains the fatherless and the widow,
\nbut he frustrates the ways of the wicked.” (Psalm 146:6-9)<\/p>\n

May rulers rise to power who will uphold these words from your law:<\/p>\n

“Do not pervert justice;
\ndo not show partiality to the poor
\nor favoritism to the great,
\nbut judge your neighbor fairly.” (Leviticus 19:15)<\/p>\n

“Do not pervert justice or show partiality.
\nDo not accept a bribe,
\nfor a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise
\nand twists the words of the innocent.
\nFollow justice and justice alone,
\nso that you may live
\nand possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 16:19-20)<\/p>\n

Lord, we pray against rulers like these ones from Proverbs:<\/p>\n

“A ruler who oppresses the poor
\nis like a driving rain that leaves no crops.” (Proverbs 28:3)<\/p>\n

“Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
\nis a wicked ruler over a helpless people.” (Proverbs 28:15)<\/p>\n

“A tyrannical ruler practices extortion,
\nbut one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign.” (Proverbs 28:16)<\/p>\n

“If a ruler listens to lies,
\nall his officials become wicked.” (Proverbs 29:12)<\/p>\n

We ask you, Lord, instead to raise up wise and just leaders.<\/p>\n

“May they judge your people in righteousness,
\nyour afflicted ones with justice.
\nMay the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
\nthe hills the fruit of righteousness.
\nMay they defend the afflicted among the people
\nand save the children of the needy;
\nmay they crush the oppressor….
\nFor they will deliver the needy who cry out,
\nthe afflicted who have no one to help.
\nThey will take pity on the weak and the needy
\nand save the needy from death.” (Psalm 72:2-4,12-13)<\/p>\n

And Mother of all, may we, your people, follow the kind of fasting you have chosen:<\/p>\n

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
\nto loose the chains of injustice
\nand untie the cords of the yoke,
\nto set the oppressed free
\nand break every yoke?
\nIs it not to share your food with the hungry
\nand to provide the poor wanderer with shelter –
\nwhen you see the naked, to clothe them,
\nand not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:6-7)<\/p>\n

We know that these human leaders are not your Anointed One,
\nthat true justice awaits your coming in glory.<\/p>\n

But as we wait, frustrate the plans of those
\nwho want to seize power for selfish gain,
\nwho care nothing for the struggling,
\nwho exploit our land out of greed,
\nwho stir up wars for their own ego.<\/p>\n

Let their power at last crumble!<\/p>\n

May this be the day when you say:
\n“‘Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,’
\nI will now arise,’ says the Lord.
\n‘I will protect them from those who malign them.’…
\nYou, Lord, will keep the needy safe
\nand will protect us forever from the wicked,
\nwho freely strut about
\nwhen what is vile is honored by the human race.” (Psalm 12:5,7-8)<\/p>\n

Stop their strutting, O God!<\/p>\n

“But let justice roll on like a river,
\nrighteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24)<\/p>\n

Amen.
\nMay it be so.
\nThanks be to God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s Election Day, and the leaves have mostly fallen. My church has opened up a small chapel today for prayer, but I decided to go with writing a psalm about what’s on my heart and posting that prayer online. My heart is full. A Methodist pastor whose books I’ve already read and reviewed is running […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-messianic-psalms","category-praying-with-the-psalmists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15043"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15048,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15043\/revisions\/15048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}