This post is written from a Christian perspective, but much of it could be appropriate for anyone.
How do we pray for an election? Is it right to pray for our people to win? If God thinks we need to have the other guys in office, who are we to presume otherwise? That's a much bigger question than just about an election, and much better people than I have wrestled with it over the ages. The best I can do is paraphrase they way I remember C. S. Lewis dealing with it: If you can work for a candidate's success, if you can contribute to his campaign, if you can vote for him—it's certainly something appropriate to pray for.
Nonetheless, as much as I want Donald Trump to return to the Oval Office, I was for a long time reluctant to pray for his victory. After all, what if I'm wrong? What if America actual needs Kamala Harris as our leader? I'm not omniscient, much less perfectly wise. What if I do that, and God answers my prayer—and I regret it? Certainly it sometimes happens that he gives us what we beg for—and then makes good come out of what could have been better. But again, better folks have written on all these questions.
It was taking another look at Christ's prayer in the Garden of Gesthemane that made sense of it for me. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." ... "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." ... And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. [My condensation]
Jesus knew well beforehand that his Father's plans for him included an agonizing death. He knew it well and had already told his disciples that it was necessary for the accomplishment of what he had come to earth to accomplish. But he was terrified, and didn't hesitate to pray for some way out of it. If Jesus Christ can pray desperately to avoid something he sees no good way out of, I guess I can pray for election results. The trick comes in how he always ended these prayers: with "Not my will, but yours be done."
So this is, roughly, how I pray for this election.
- That it would be free and fair,
- That the candidates and causes I care about will be victorious, and most especially that
- God will work out his will in and through the election—let's be real here; he knows better than I do.
And one more thing: Win or lose, that we face the next four years with the same attitude I witnessed in New York City, less than two weeks after the 2016 election that put Donald Trump in office the first time. As I wrote previously,
Coming so soon after the election, it was delightful to find everyone so polite, considerate, and going out of their way to be friendly and helpful. Even a multi-racial discussion about the election itself, which we overheard in a local restaurant, was calm, reasoned, and willing to give others the benefit of the doubt. Willing to give Donald Trump a chance.
We need more of that, whoever wins this election.
