I’ve been a voter since Jimmy Carter was elected back in the day. This is the most OhMyGosh election I can remember. I can’t imagine anything good coming out of it…

Except that when things are a mess in the political world (just like when things are a mess in our personal lives) we SOMETIMES remember that there is a God who loves his creatures and is interested in helping.

I can remember during the last election cycle, several of our local churches got together and prayed for our nation. They didn’t pray, “Hey, God, please make So-and-So to be the next president!”.

Rather, they prayed II Chronicles 7:14:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (KJV)

I don’t think it was a local phenomena. I think there were churches gathering around the country, making a point to pray together for the nation.

I haven’t seen much of that this election cycle.

I wonder if God, being a parent-figure to us (“Our Father, who art in heaven…”) is handling us like we parents sometimes must handle our kids. We give them great advice and then they ignore it. We give them great advice and they ignore it again. THEN the most loving thing we can do sometimes is to step back and let them create their own disasters.

Nothing like experiential learning…

What if God decides that one of our great sins is ignoring the advice:

II Chronicles 7:14 If my people…will humble themselves and pray…

II Timothy 2:1-3 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 might lead a quiet and peaceable life in all goodliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.

I know I’ve been guilty of an egocentric prayer life. I always pray, but often for those in my direct sphere of life (family, friends, clients, church folks, business). By the time I cover that stuff, I’m done.

What if God, like a parent, in this OhMyGosh election cycle is saying to us, “I’ve given you good advice. If you continue to ignore it, I’m going to step back and let you learn from your own disaster.”

We need a miracle for sure. A miracle rescue from our own disaster. Maybe it starts with our nation’s Christian population’s prayer life.