Election Day Prayer

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Thanks for joining us today on Revive Our Hearts for Tuesday, November 5, 2024. I’m Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.

Dannah Gresh: And I’m Dannah Gresh.

Nancy: And you may have heard . . . we have an election going on today in this country. If you’re eligible to vote, I hope you’ve either already voted or you have plans to do it today before the polling places close. 

Dannah: Now, we’re not here to tell you how to vote, just to encourage you to vote.

Nancy: And to pray!

Dannah: Yes, and to pray. 

Nancy: And if you don’t live here in the United States, you can still pray for our country.

Dannah: In fact, yesterday on Revive Our Hearts, Nancy, we had a rich, meaningful time lifting our hearts to the Lord. And one of the ones who led us in prayer was Mary Kassian. She’s Canadian.

Nancy: And today we’ll start praying with a dear friend named Retha DeVilliers, who is from the Republic of South Africa. She’s on the Revive Our Hearts team there.

Let me begin by reminding us all of the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verses 1–4.

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (CSB)

Let’s join Retha as she prays.

Retha DeVilliers: Dear Lord God Almighty, You are the Alpha and the Omega, the One who was and is and is to come (see Rev. 1:8). You know everything of the past, You know what is currently happening in the world . . . and in the United States. You know what will happen in the future, because You are the Almighty God! We love You, Lord Jesus. We bow before You in awe!

And Lord, in these challenging times, we turn to You for guidance and support. You have instructed us to call upon Your name in times of difficulty, and we earnestly seek Your help now. The United States and all their leaders need Your wisdom and direction each day, but especially during this election.

Lord, we know You are in control of the entire world! We trust in Your sovereign power, and we know one day every nation will bow before You. They will praise Your holy name. And Lord, the future year, and this time in the United States and its impact on the world is in Your hands.

We pray that Your light and truth will guide each person involved in the election process. May Your name be honored as holy during the election, and may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We pray this in the name of Jesus, amen.

Dannah: Amen. Here’s Pastor Bill Elliff.

Pastor Bill Elliff: Father, we come into Your presence today with joy and we stand before You and look at You on Your throne as the Great sovereign King of heaven and earth. You have always been on Your throne, Lord, and You will always be, regardless of any election.

Lord, we know that You hold the hearts and lives of kings and rulers in Your hand, and You turn them wherever You will to accomplish Your purposes. And we thank You Lord that Your ultimate purposes will always be accomplished, and You’re bringing this whole world to an ending place and a new beginning with Your kingdom.

But now we come, Lord, to face this election moment. We pray for wisdom, Lord. Give us guidance and clarity personally as to what we are to do. We pray for Your mercy as a nation, Lord, as Moses prayed. You don’t have to give mercy to us, but Lord we pray for mercy, we ask for mercy as a nation.

And we pray that You, O Lord, would show us Your ways, so that we could know You and fully cooperate with You. Let me know Your ways, Lord, as I step into the voting booth today, and Your mind and Your heart, and let me join You in Your activity.

And, Father, as You work we will praise You and we will trust You. And thank You that, regardless of the outcomes, we can serve you and live in Your presence and help see Your kingdom come on earth as it is being done in heaven. In Jesus’ name and for Your sake, amen!

Nancy: Thank you, Bill. Let’s pray now with Steve Green.

Steve Green: Luke 13:3: “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (NKJV). Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. In Your Word, Jesus speaks the sobering statement that without repentance all will perish. We tremble, for You are no respecter of persons and You have no favorite nation.

You call to repentance, yet we can no more change our hearts than a leopard can change its spots. What you call us to, You must do in us by Your grace. We are helpless apart from You. So we pray that You would grant repentance by Your Holy Spirit—a repentance that recognizes and grieves over the rebellion against You in every aspect of our lives; a repentance that acknowledges the mountain of our guilt before You and our abject spiritual poverty; a repentance that turns to You for mercy and holds out empty hands to receive the gift of forgiveness and salvation that is only ours through Jesus Christ.

But, Father, how will this happen apart from the proclamation of the law and gospel in the Scriptures? There is sufficient evidence in creation of Your eternal power and divine nature, so that all are without excuse.

But it is only in Your Word that You have revealed the glorious news of all Christ accomplished on our behalf. Father, raise up those who would speak Your Word with great boldness, so that all who hear are cut to the heart! May Your Word pierce, melt, and soften hearts! 

Father, we yearn for this kind of heaven-sent repentance personally in our own lives and in the lives of those around us. We deserve Your judgment for our grievous sin, but Lord in judgment, remember mercy! Grant repentance, lest we perish! Through Christ our Lord, we pray, amen.

Song: Steve Green

I lament the idols I’ve accepted, 
the commandments I’ve rejected 
to pursue my selfish end. 
And I confess I need you to revive me, 
put selfishness behind me and take up my cross again.

And I repent, making no excuses. 
I repent no one else to blame. 
And I return to fall in love with Jesus. 
I bow down on my knees, and I repent.
And I return to fall in love with Jesus. 
I bow down on my knees, and I repent.¹

Nancy: Here’s Byron Paulus from our sister ministry, OneCry.

Byron Paulus: Heavenly Father, You are the Great Reviver, and we come to You today asking You to do great and mighty things that are a reflection of how big and how powerful You are! I think in the days of Hosea the prophet, when the people of God were familiar with the ways of God but they were no longer walking in the ways of God. 

Hosea cried out and said, “It is time to seek the Lord until He comes and rains righteousness upon us." (Hosea 10:12 paraphrased). Hosea said that clearly it was time for God’s people to seek the Lord, not the lost world around him, but oh, it was time for the people of God to fall on their faces and seek the Lord.

And so I pray, Lord, that even in the midst of an election season—at a time, Lord, when our tendency is to look to Washington, D.C. or to look to man or political leaders—God, that we would look to You and we wouldn’t seek for answers anywhere apart from You.

And so, God, I pray that You would raise up, even right now, all across our nation, those who would begin to seek Your face; that there would be a prayer movement. God; that there would be an army of people that would cry out to You and cry out to heaven and say, “Oh God, would You come down, would You come down and would you manifest Your presence and Your glory upon our nation once again?!”

And so, God, we do seek You! And God, I pray that you would help us to be a people that would persevere in prayer; that we wouldn’t just pray and cease praying, but we would seek You until You come! 

And God, really, the ultimate end result of our prayer is Your presence, that, God, You would come. We pray You would come in the midst of Your people and Your Holy Spirit would be poured out once again upon our nation through Your people! And, God, that You would once again rain righteousness upon our nation.

We pray that it would be a nation that would be characterized by purity and holiness in Your Church; that Your people would turn away from their wicked ways; that Your people would turn away from evil, from self-sufficiency and self-satisfaction and self-righteousness and would turn to You! 

So God, please come. Come with Your presence, Your power! God, manifest Your glory! Oh God, may the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, would it cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. That’s our prayer, Lord. Send revival! And God, I pray that You would send it in my heart, in my life.

God, would you send revival, and let it begin in me! God, thank You. Thank You that we can pray in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, the Reviver of all revivers! And we thank You for what You’re going to do, by faith, as You turn the heart of this nation and Your Church back to yourself! And we pray in the powerful name of Jesus, amen.

Dannah: You’re listening to Revive Our Hearts. We’re praying for our nation on this election day. Let’s pray now with Susan Hunt.

Susan Hunt: “Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared . . . a great king over all the earth. God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (see Psalm 47:1–2, 8). Brothers and sisters, let’s pray.

High King of heaven, You rule over the nations. You sit on Your throne. And yet Jesus told us to pray, “Our Father in heaven.” We praise You that because of Your amazing grace, we are Your children, redeemed by the blood of Jesus and adopted into Your family!

We’re overwhelmed with gratitude! The sovereign King of the universe is our good and faithful Father and nothing, neither wars nor elections nor governments—not even death—can separate us from You and Your love for us!

Forgive us for fretting and acting as if You’re not on Your throne, as if You’re not sovereignly ruling and governing all your creatures, as if You’re not orchestrating all things to accomplish Your great redemption plan for each of us and for this world. 

Father, help us to daily remember that You have set each one of us in the exact place on this planet at the exact time in history when You want us to glorify and enjoy You. By Your Holy Spirit, please strengthen us in our inner being to trust You with all of our hearts regardless of the circumstances of our lives and of the world.

Empower us by Your gospel to shine the light of Your Word into this fallen world by loving our neighbors, even those we disagree with, as You love us. Help us to remember that You loved us and gave Jesus to die for us while we were still Your enemies.

Father, we pray for Your Church. Thank You that You’re building Your Church throughout the world, and even the gates of hell cannot stand against her. Please revive Your Church! Make our local churches bright beacons of goodness, beauty and truth where others are welcomed as Jesus welcomes us.

And Father, we do pray for our country and ask You to give us godly leaders at every level of government, men and women who will glorify You by doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with You.

Father, as we live in this fallen world, we pray as Jesus taught us to, for Your kingdom to come and Your will to be done in each of our hearts and our families, our churches and our country and in the world. 

We long for the day when Jesus comes back, but until that day, set our hearts on eternal things so that wherever we are and whatever our situation, our very lives might be loud songs of joy because we know that our God reigns! In the name of Jesus, our Savior and King, amen.

Nancy: Amen. Thank you, Susan. Now a member of the Revive Our Hearts board of directors, Samantha Lister. 

Samantha Lister: All the verses that I’m going to share with you today are taped on the wall in my closet where I go to pray.

Lord God, we come before You humbly. We recognize that You are sovereign, that You are holy, holy, holy, high and lifted up! You are perfect in all of Your ways.

Lord God, You are the Creator, and we are the created. God, You are our Provider, our Sustainer, You are the lover of our souls. You give us all that we need and so much more! You are our Comforter, our Guide and the Redeemer of our souls.

I stand in awe of all that You are: almighty, everlasting, the victorious risen King who is seated on His throne, and yet You see us and You know us and You love us! And You have made a way for each one of us to be reconciled to You, God, through Your Son Jesus Christ. 

We are so thankful for all that You have done, all that You continue to do, and all that You promise to do. Lord God, thank You that You will never leave us nor forsake us.  That, Lord, even when we do not know what to do, we can look to You, that our eyes can be cast upon You, as 2 Chronicles 20:12 says.

Lord, may we look up, may we continue to be women who look up to You; that we don’t look around at our circumstances, but that we are constantly reminded that You are the One who is in control and we can cast our eyes upon You.

And Lord, no matter what is going on in our world, no matter how things turn out or the difficulties that arise around us, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope” (see Lam. 3:21) that You are good, and that You are faithful and that Your promises will prevail!

You are the everlasting God, You are the Mighty Fortress, You are my shade from the heat and my shelter from the storm! Thank You God, thank You for all that You are. Lord, help us to be women who are ready for the battle, knowing that the victory is won in You! 

Proverbs 21:31 tells us, “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory [rests with] the Lord.” Our confidence is in You and You alone! And our hope is secure because, again, our God is seated on His throne!

Lord, may we go forth with the joy of the Lord, knowing that the victory is ours because we are Yours. In Christ’s Name we pray, amen.

Nancy: Let’s pray with Crawford Loritts.

Crawford Loritts: Holy Father, we bow before Your presence, and as we pray, Lord, I can’t help but think of Moses’ passionate plea in Exodus chapter 33, verse 15 when he said, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.”

Lord God, I pray in the name of Your Son that You will delightfully afflict us with holy desperation during this time. We pray that we’ll be desperate—not so much to be right—but we’ll be desperate, Father, for Your presence, desperate for Your glory. 

And as a result of that desperation, I pray that there will be an overflow of impact on the people around us, Lord, pointing people to Jesus, pointing people to the transforming power of the gospel, pointing people to a passionate pursuit of holiness because of the grace and mercy of God on us!

Lord God, during this time we desperately feel the need for You to supernaturally intervene, and for there to be a sense of Your presence filling our nation. Lord, we ask for spiritual awakening, we ask for revival, O God!

And Lord, start the work in our hearts. We humbly pray that You’ll deal with each one of us in the hidden recesses of our own hearts, the sins that are there so that we might truly be lights in the world, compelling the world to come to know the Savior who loves us, who died for us!

God, visit us we pray, intervene for us we pray, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Dannah: And Kristyn Getty. 

Kristyn Getty: In April 1872, hymn writer and poet Frances Ridley Havergal wrote a hymn she titled "A Worker’s Prayer." I have it by my work desk and pray it often. It reminds me where the real work is and what the heart of the worker in Christ’s kingdom should be like.

Public spaces call for and need real and excellent Christian voices in service, and we pray for that. But we also recognize with great hope and conviction that the beautiful rule of His kingdom is powerfully seen and most radically needed in the everyday life, in the everyday spaces, of every believer as they walk humbly and joyfully with Him wherever they are called, in whatever times they live. 

Psalm 73 describes that closeness we all need with the Lord, in order that He may be seen in all our ways. Psalm 73:23–28:

Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

Every moment of our lives can lean into Him or lead away from Him. Let’s use Miss Havergal’s prayer as our own, as we lean in. 

Lord, speak to me that I may speak
In living echoes of your tone.
As you have sought, so let me seek
Your erring children, lost and lone.

Oh, lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wand'ring and the wav'ring feet.
Oh, feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Your hungry ones with manna sweet.

Oh, teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious truths which you impart.
And wing my words that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.

Oh, fill me with your fullness, Lord,
Until my very hearts o'erflows
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Your love to tell, your praise to show.

Oh, use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as you will, and when, and where
Until your blessed face I see,
Your rest, your joy, your glory share.

("A Worker’s Prayer" by Frances Havergal)

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Nancy: We’re taking time today here on Revive Our Hearts to lift our families, our churches, our nation to the Lord in prayer on this election day. Here’s Bob Bakke.

Bob Bakke: Proverbs 12:22 says that the Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in people who are trustworthy. So with that in mind, let’s pray for the integrity of our elections. 

Father in Heaven, we pray appealing to You—You who are the One who raises up leaders and removes them, You who governs all things by the power of Your Word. You commanded us to partner with You in the unfolding of Your work in history, and that partnership is prayer.

So we pray to You, O God, for Your oversight of our election, that You would watch over every human factor, every human actor—from poll workers to poll watchers, to security personnel and voting machines and voting machine maintenance workers and election administrators and politicians and political parties and electors, lawyers, judges, all who are involved, even the voters themselves—we pray for the personal integrity of each and every system, every person involved. 

We pray that the people and the systems of our election would protect us as a country, shielding us from corrupt people and corrupt outcomes. So govern every action, O God, and compel honesty and compel integrity from everyone involved—all for the blessing of our country and, by extension, the blessing of the nations of the earth!

And keep us as intercessors diligent in our intercessions, compelling us to pray, and to pray without ceasing as You commanded us. All of this in Jesus’ name. All of this to Jesus’s glory, amen and amen!

Dannah: Amen! I trust your heart is comforted as you’ve prayed along with these men and women. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth will pray with us in just a moment. Let me encourage you to head to ReviveOurHearts.com, scroll down to the bottom, and select “Contact us.” Let us know if you appreciated this time of prayer. 

Now, let’s pray with Nancy to close our program today.

Nancy: Oh Lord, how we need You. Our hearts have been lifted and challenged. We're burdened, so we lift our eyes up to You, our Father in heaven as we think about the needs in our nation, in our world, in our communities, in our churches, in our own lives. But particularly as we think about the floods, the storms, the challenges attacking us and our country and our world—the evil, the onslaught of the enemy coming against You and coming against Your people. Lord, where can we turn? What can we do except call on You. So, that's what we've been doing.

Lord, we take as our encouragement, assurance from that wonderful passage from the end of Psalm 29, that says:

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned, King forever. (v. 10 CSB)

Thank You that You are sitting on Your throne. You are sitting as King—not for a short time, not just for one election cycle, but King forever over heaven and earth.

You're sitting. You're not running about trying to figure out what to do or are perplexed who won or didn't win the election or what's going on in our government or governments around the world. You're not distressed. You're not confused. You're not perplexed. You're sitting. You're in control. You see all. You know all. And You are in control of what's going on in this world.

So Father, we take our place with You. We're thankful that You are ruling over the flood. And there are floods taking place in our world. Floods of ideologies, floods of wrong ways of thinking about You and about humanity and about morality and about everything imaginable. But You are over that flood You reign and You rule. You sit enthroned.

Thank you for the next verse, Psalm 29:11:

The Lord gives his people strength;
the Lord blesses his people with peace. (CSB)

Lord, we are Your people, and we are going to claim Your promise that says that You will give us strength. You will give us peace. So, help us to act as Your people and live as Your people, not to act and live as people who have no God and don't know You. We are Your people.

We are weak, but You are strong. We can be super flustered at times, like times we are living in today. But You bless us with peace.

Thank You for the promises of Your Word that one day all the confusion, all the floods, all the terror, all the crime, all the destruction, all the pride, all of the posturing will be done away with. In this world a new heaven and a new earth will be fully under Your reign and rule forever and ever! No more sin, no more pride, no more anger, no more self-seeking, but all eyes on You, seated on Your throne!

We bless You. We love You. Help us to live this day and the days ahead in the light of the reality of what is yet to come. We praise You. We bless You. In Jesus' name, amen.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

¹"I Repent," Steve Green, The Ultimate Collection: Steve Green This compilation ℗ 2006 Sparrow Records.

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