Prayer for Your Local Candidates
Because it's really easy to avoid the Bible's commands to pray for the men and women who work in politics and government, Center for Christian Civics hosts bi-weekly opportunities to join us in prayer via phone.On last week's conference call, prayer was led by Stephanie Summers, CEO of the Center for Public Justice, an independent Christian think tank working on non-partisan solutions to policy problems. The complete audio of the call is below, followed by a transcription of one of Stephanie's prayers. You can learn more about CPJ's work on their website or on their blog.
Father God, we are profoundly grateful that we have the opportunity to be reminded of your view of what leadership looks like. As we think about the weeks ahead that remain between now and election day, we long to attend to your vision of leadership. We’re thankful, Lord, for the many candidates who have come forward to run, to pursue justice, to pursue the welfare of the cities and the towns in which they live, out of concern for every neighbor in their neighborhoods. It is a thankless job in many cases, and running as a candidate often feels very hopeless. Lord, we’re grateful for the folks who you have called forward to serve, on whose hearts you’ve laid your vision for leadership. We’re thankful for people who are going to serve in offices down the street from where we live—people who are commissioners of the revenue, who serve on city councils. Folks who are sheriffs, folks who are running to be prosecutors or who will serve on the school board or certify elections or make sure that the sewers run just as well in the rich neighborhoods as they do in the poor neighborhoods.Lord, our prayer is that you would continue to strengthen and encourage the men and women who have said ‘yes’ to serving you in this way. Please provide folks who will stand by them in their run who can help ensure that their message will be communicated clearly, that it will not fall on deaf ears, that as citizens they will find their neighbors to be people who are paying attention and are looking to the interests of others.Lord, we do pray particularly for their health, for their safety, for their families and friends who commit with them to these campaigns. In all of the ways that there have been things about campaigning that have been distorted and consequently take a toll on their health, their safety, their families and friends, we pray that you would do the work that we know you can do: Restore what it is to be image-bearers. We pray that those who have resorted to viciousness in their campaigns would repent, that they would receive forgiveness, and that they would in turn communicate how they hope to govern in wisdom.And, Lord, we pray this not just for our neighborhoods and our cities, but we pray this for our state houses, for people who are going to have positions that we only learn exist when we look at our ballots. And we pray these things for our presidential candidates, as well. Each of these men and women have been created in your image. I pray that you would give them what they need to be people who govern in wisdom. Protect them from all the assaults of the enemy and continue to conform them not to the likeness of a false image, but to the image of your Son, Christ Jesus, in whose name we pray these things.Amen.