Thursday, June 05, 2008

Obama vs. McCain

I’m really not sure what’s right in this election, and I tend to be anxious about what to do with my vote. But I realized that the thing I can do, more important than voting, is to pray.

We can pray that God give us a righteous, just, good President; we can pray that God’s will be done. And, amazingly, we actually have more influence with the Sovereign of the universe than we do at our ballot boxes.

4 comments:

Ben said...

This brings up a doozy of a theological question.

I've read somewhere that the point of prayer is not to bring God in line with our will, but to bring us in line with His. I guess I need to see the Scripture to back this up, but it struck me as correct.

Obvious point-in-case in my life. I've been praying for over 4 months for Christy's healing (re: heart palpitations and pain). She's not healed. What gives?

I don't think the answer is that I'm not praying hard enough or that I don't have enough faith. Those answers, frankly, strike me as juvenile. So does the suggestion that prayer is a waste. That doesn't jive with the Biblical commands to pray constantly. James tells us to pray for concrete things like healing.

I'm certainly thankful for the things God has taught us in the midst of (and through) her illness. So I certainly believe God is using her illness.

And I know God isn't a cosmic slot machine. (Prayer in, Prize out.)

Except for the line I bring up in the first sentence of my second paragraph above, I'm not sure what to make of all this, especially when combined with the Biblical command to pray constantly. Any suggestions to help me develop a better understanding/theology of prayer are more than welcome.

All that said, I'll certainly be praying for the things you mention. I'm commanded to.

Anonymous said...

I pray that God gives you Obama. The whole world will be better for it. McCain is itching for war with Iran.

Anonymous said...

I understand the anxiousness in your vote. The year that Perot was on the ballett, I voted for him. I was torn on who to vote for, all I knew was I wanted someone really different. So I finally voted for him. But right after I was done I felt Nauseated. I couldn't believe how anxious I was after I dropped my ballett. I was so anxious that I dropped to my knees and prayed for God to have the right man be president. So that no matter what happened, I could feel at ease with my choice. It was a crazy experience, but it worked for me.

Anonymous said...

Ben, I know this doesn't line up with my post on my own site, but one thing that has helped me when I am praying is that the Bible says God does not tarry. He is never late. He seems to rarely be early. It is normally right up to the exact second that He works. His answer may not be no, it may simply be wait. Our timing and patience is never His. We can only see so far, He sees it all.