I am tempted to pen an article to rouse your deepest patriotic desires to vote (and I hope you do vote!) but I will not do that. I want to pull some word smythe tricks that will convince you to vote faithfully, morally, with conviction, and without political ire, but I will not (as if I had those tricks anyway). What I will do, what I must do as a Christ follower with a pen, is ask you to pray.

Now is not the time to post on Facebook all the mistakes we can find in our top political candidates. Now is not the time to bash the ones that don’t line up with your personal views, or the views of those you think will most likely ‘like’ your posts. Now is not the time to blow off the election like it is some monster looming in the distance but not quite close enough to garner our attention. Now is the time to PRAY.

I am not going to go down the road we so often like called “The Faith of our Father’s Road.” Be them faithful or not, there are arguments on both sides, they are dead and we are still alive. Their legacy was strong, genius, and lasting. They cannot speak their opinions on our current political situation. We cannot speculate as to what they would say. Instead of guessing, we must pray.

I am not going to go down the equally tempting lane called “The Moral Right Trail.” This group is just as politically driven as the so called “Crooked Road to the Left.” The truth is both parties are composed of people, who, in the end, still live, breath, and die. Neither side is the Savior or the Enemy. Regardless of what you think about Sanders or Jones, White or Westerman, Boozman or James, none of them stand a chance of saving our country apart from Divine Intervention.

I believe the intervention that saved our countrymen in the beginning was Divine. I certainly believe God was in the deliverance of the Pilgrims from the greedy political jaws of the English. I also believe He was in the creation of a nation that heralded Religious Liberty. That freedom alone has advanced the Kingdom of God tremendously in the last two centuries. I do not believe God was involved in what our forefathers called “Manifest Destiny.” I do not believe He endorses that sentiment today. However, our Father, who longs to hear from and speak to us, is in the simple act of prayer. He is seeking our hearts and minds at this very minute. If we seek Him, He promises to direct our paths. And He always keeps His word.

What I intend to do in this article is present a case for justice. I intend to start the freedom wheels rolling in your head and heart. These wheels do not rise and fall on the boundaries of the United States. While they certainly may begin their journey within our borders, the end of their road may be within the borders of an entirely different nation. In fact, they most likely will end there!

Is justice not what we seek? By ‘justice’ I do not mean punishment or trial. I am not referring to vengeance or jury sentences. I am referring to the strong action of our God to bring about His Kingdom upon the request of His servants. I am talking about the desire that reaches deep down in the hearts of those who seek Jesus to cry out for Freedom, Light, Liberty, and Hope for all who would seek it. Justice is a simple word that opens the window to more blessings than we can imagine…if we can grasp its concept and offering.

Justice is at the heart of our God. It demands right action and the emotions that motivate that action. It leads us to the precipice of hope and builds a bridge to the other side. It is found within the heart and mind of every human being. We’ve all witnessed traces of its powerful effects in men and women, their speeches and writings, their landmark decisions and the people they affected throughout history. But those are only traces. Martin Luther King? Just a trace. Ghandi and Mother Theresa? Just traces. William Wilberforce, Jonathon Edwards, William Booth and William Carey? All glimpses of justice. True justice, the justice we seek has only been seen in full force once on this earth. The man, Christ, carried its weight fully upon His shoulders from His birth until His death…and through His resurrection! Truly, the justice we seek, the freedom we claim, the liberty we long for, and the hope for which we wait is only found in Him. And so we PRAY.

I encourage you, citizen, to pray. And when you pray, do not ask for a candidate’s nomination or for a vote to pass or fail. These things will come and go. Ask for God’s will to be done and for His Kingdom to come! As you pray for our country your heart will be shaped to His greatest glory and your/our greatest good. I have no doubt you will vote accordingly. As we all pray I have no question about the potential votes of those with more power in their hands than we will ever have. We do not move the world with a vote, or a candidate, or a landslide election. Our world shakes and trembles at only one thing: when God’s people pray.