Election Day in Virginia
Here's a sneak it in on Sunday!
November 4th is election day in Virginia. Below is a compilation of prayers for such a time as this that a group of women are getting together at Shiloh to pray over. The 12 Points of Prayer at the end were on a card our church passed out before the 2024 election. Thought you might want to file these away for the future.
Election Prayers
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Pray for candidates to seek God’s guidance. Dear Lord, thank You that we have government representatives who believe Your truth. Remind them to seek Your guidance as they make decisions that affect our country and world. Send them godly wisdom and good counselors. And give election candidates the strength to choose integrity in both their campaigns and their terms in office.
Pray that candidates (and all of us!) would have listening ears and soft hearts. Lord Jesus, forgive us for the times we’ve entered a conversation without really listening. Show us how to listen with open and humble hearts, especially to people different from us. Help our leaders to do the same. Teach us as a nation to focus less on getting our way and more on loving our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable among us. Lord, give our leaders and prospective leaders the strength to be humble, soft-hearted, and willing to listen to every voice.
Pray for candidates to address poverty and justice issues. Father God, we are grateful that You love each of us no matter our status or abilities. Thank You that You walk with children and families struggling against poverty and injustice, calling us to do the same. We ask that candidates running for election would speak out about poverty and listen to the voices of the vulnerable. Give our leaders wisdom to create solutions that empower people living in poverty to survive and thrive. Help us to answer Your call to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You.
Pray for strength and encouragement for our leaders and election candidates. Holy Father, thank You for creating each of us with unique gifts, and for gifting some with leadership abilities to help guide our country. For everyone running for office, whether they win or lose, refresh their spirits and encourage them. Give them the strength to make good decisions both in and out of the public eye. Help them readily give grace — and receive it. Protect their families from sickness, bitterness, and discouragement. May every leader be encouraged by the truth that Your love is always stronger than hate.
Pray that our leaders would commit to working together (and that we would too). Jesus, thank You for humbling Yourself to walk alongside us as a man. Help our leaders be willing to walk alongside each other, their constituents, and especially the marginalized. Our leaders have different opinions and priorities; give them the wisdom to navigate differences and work together to strengthen our country. Remind us in this election year that You have called Christians to be one body.
Pray that we would see each other through Jesus’ eyes. God, forgive us for the times we’ve failed to treat each other as Your creation. Forgive us for celebrating unloving behavior in our candidates and our leaders. Call our leaders and political candidates to a new level of respect and civility. Remind them that You are sovereign and that the wisest choice we can make is to serve You and serve others. May there be a new movement of collaboration and respect in our nation’s capital and throughout the country. Give Your people the strength to lead by example with radical, world-changing love.
A Prayer on Election Day (Author Unknown)
O God, we acknowledge you today as Lord, Not only of individuals, but of nations and governments. We thank you for the privilege of voting that is ours–an opportunity to influence the direction our country will take by choosing those who will lead us. LLord, we thank you for your law of love and justice and grace, which our founding fathers acknowledged and recognized as higher than any human law. May we seek to be true to your law above all else. We thank you for the opportunity this election puts before us, to exercise our solemn duty to vote thoughtfully and prayerfully. We pray that we, your people, may be awakened to spiritual reality on this day. Awaken in us the knowledge that we are not called to flee this world, but rather we are called to be a community of faith renewing the world. AAwaken in us an awareness that the same hands we lift to you in prayer are the hands that fill out our voting ballot; That the same eyes that read your word are the eyes that read the names of the candidates, and that we do not cease to be Christ-followers when we enter the voting booth. Awaken in us a renewed commitment to justice and equity, that we may use our vote for the good of all God’s children and the betterment of the whole human community—of which we are one small part. Awaken in us a renewed commitment to care for each other, to steward the earth and to share the many gifts you have bestowed upon us. MMay the way we vote and the attitudes we carry with us into the voting booth show us to be citizens of your kingdom—People of hope in the midst of despair, joy in the midst of sorrow, faith in the midst of fear, truth in the midst of confusion, generosity in the face of need. IIndeed, we rejoice today that we are citizens of your kingdom. We pray that our spiritual citizenship will make us all the more committed to being faithful citizens of this earth. And may we put our trust in you always. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord and for the sake of his love. AMEN.
Prayer Before An Election
Lord God, as the election approaches, we seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our city/state/country, and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful citizens in our community.
We ask for eyes that are free from blindness so that we might see each other as brothers and sisters,
one and equal in dignity, especially those who are victims of abuse and violence, deceit and poverty.
We ask for ears that will hear the cries of children unborn and those abandoned, men and women oppressed because of race or creed, religion or gender. We ask for minds and hearts that are open to hearing the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your Kingdom.
We pray for discernment so that we may choose leaders who hear your Word, live your love,
and keep in the ways of your truth as they follow in the steps of Jesus and his Apostles
and guide us to your Kingdom of justice and peace. We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Author Unknown
12 Points of Prayer for our Elections
1.Pray for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in our nation.
2. Pray that the schemes of the enemy would be exposed.
3. Pray for swift justice for any unlawful or corrupt action that is taken to thwart our nation’s Constitution, laws, or integrity.
4. Pray for the election process to be fair, hones, and free of corruption or manipulation.
5. Pray for candidates to have an encounter with Christ that is life changing if they do not know Him.
6. Pray for candidates and leaders who are God-fearing to be protected, continue seeking God, and to have favor.
7. Pray that believers conduct due diligence on candidates and their positions, and that they would weight those positions with the Word of God.
8. Pray that believers would take their responsibility to vote, and would cast their votes in much greater numbers.
9. Pray for citizens to be able to discern the truth as they hear the candidates, see ads, watch debates, and tune into pundits and the media. May they have the desire to seek truth and discern it.
10. Pray that discourse would be civil and respectful during this time of polarizing views.
11. Pray for the physical protection of our President, Vice President, and all candidates and the current leaders during this time.
12. Pray that the election outcome would result in our nation being poised for greater spiritual growth and revival.
