Pray First, Listen Second, and Shut It.

Underneath my extremely sarcastic personality, and non-confrontational demeanor, runs the blood of an American Patriot. Ask my mother, I have always had a strange and weird fascination with the founding of this country, our history, and the American Dream. I was the kid who would randomly stand in my living room singing songs about this country, or would recite the Pledge of Allegiance for the heck of it. I was the kid who’d get emotional with pride singing our National Anthem. I was the kid who memorized, yes memorized, the majority of Patrick Henry’s speech he gave to the Second Virginia Convention in 1775, which is famously known for the phrase “give me liberty, or give me death!” I respected our flag and was proud of what it stood for. I loved reading and hearing stories about the pilgrimage, and the journey out west, always wondering what life would have been like back then. I valued and respected the president even if I didn’t like him (or, back then, if my parents didn’t like him). My favorite parts of history in school were about American government, the world wars, and the Constitution. If you knew my heart of hearts, you’d see my blood would be pumping red, white, and blue. I saw those who served in our military as the ultimate heroes, and to wear that uniform brought you respect and honor you overwhelming deserved. My childhood dream, of course, included being married to a man in the military. July 4th was one of my all time favorite holidays, and it wasn’t because of the cook outs. It was legitimately because I LOVED celebrating our freedom every year! I would sit there watching the fireworks, most often at my grandma’s house, and probably be the only kid there thinking about the war we fought, the men that died, and the courage they had to stand up and fight for our right to be a free people. When I said, “God bless America,” or “I’m proud to be an American,” I meant it. And even at a young age, I understood how precious our freedom was, and that our freedom was a gift from God Almighty, and our rights were God-given rights.

Fast forward to 2020, and say hello to the craziest times I have ever lived through. Life has taught me obvious lessons about fairytale land and reality, but it has never, nor will ever take away my love for this country. Like my faith in Jesus Christ, it is a part of who I am. Jesus bought me my salvation with His death so that I may have eternal life in Him. I am a child of God through Jesus, His death and resurrection. I am also, and far less eternally, an American citizen, by which was given to me through the soldiers who gave their life for their fellow people. I will never take for granted the soil on which I stand, and am I well aware that the Lord could have chosen a different life for me, in a different place, in a different time… yet instead, He gave me this gift, in this place, for such a time as this… maybe even with a little more passion for this country than most.

It is no shock to anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock since the beginning of the year, that we are in some rough times! There has been such chaos and division, I’m not sure where I would actually start if I wanted to address that. Social media has given hatred a breeding ground for those who choose to spew our their hearts before checking them first. I saw it most evidently today. It broke my heart. The American people await the results of one of the biggest elections to date. Already divided with hatred over race, viruses, education, masks, and opinions, we added politics into it. It was unavoidable. Many times, I found myself having to check my heart before speaking! I have often felt overwhelmed with the immense desire to see hatred flee, as a Christian, and to see this country unified again under one flag, a nation under God. It is something that we can not do alone. And a man who claims to be the answer to bridge the division better be Jesus Himself. What is obvious to me is, right now, our country doesn’t need our opinions. It doesn’t need our knowledge. It needs Godly wisdom, and it needs prayer. Prayer for revival. Prayer for truth to prevail. Prayer for honesty, love, and justice to return to this land.

It is common for us to think of prayer as the last resort. When all options have failed, when we have spoken all our truths to someone else, when we have tried to do everything within our power to produce an outcome… “well, I guess I’ll pray and ask the Lord for help.” Are you kidding me… My friends, pray FIRST, listen second. Two truths I would like to leave you with that I believe are applicable to this waiting time we find ourselves in as a country.

Number one: Shut up. I don’t know how else to say it. Take a deep breath, shut off the news- which has already failed you so many times this year, and filled you with fear after fear. Go to a quiet place, and pray first. In fact, don’t stop praying. God’s Word says, “Be still and know that I am God.” In Romans 8, it tells us that Jesus intercedes for us. We have all gotten to a point in our lives where we literally have no words that can express our deepest needs. That’s where Jesus comes in! Be still, and just pray. Even without words, Jesus knows your inmost thoughts, and He will take it before the throne of God. Prayer is a powerful and effective weapon. Don’t view it as an after thought. Prayer moves the hand of God, prayers brings forth the will of God, prayer moves mountains and heals the sick. Prayer is not a last resort, it is communion with the Great I AM. Be still, and know that no matter who is president or what you think of him, God is God. A president is only a president for at most 8 years. God is God then and forever.

Second: Your truth is not God’s truth. Your opinions may be extremely important to you, and you may have good reason to believe what you believe. That’s fine. But if it does not stand against the Word of God, it is not Truth. I mean, I believe this country is, in fact, the greatest country there will ever be. I will never apologize for it. But God’s truth tells me that even this great country will fade in the coming of the King of Kings. He will establish His Kingdom, no matter who’s in our government at the time. My prayer for right now is that this country will always have a president who seeks God’s wisdom and upholds His principles. We are called to pray for our leaders. We are called to turn from our wickedness, and humble ourselves. Only then will He hear from heaven and heal our land. We are called to do what He calls us to do; when he says, “Go!” we go. When he says, “speak this for me.” we speak. When he asks us to do strange things, like take our staff and raise our hand above the Red Sea as Moses did… we do it. We trust in God’s promises. If He says He fights for us, He does. If He says He’ll never leave us or forsake us, He won’t. If He says He will return, He will. If He says faith is being sure of what we hope for, have faith. If He says He is love, we love through Him. If He says He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we seek Him. If He says trust Him with all our hearts, we don’t withhold our trust. If He promises victory, we live victorious. If He says through Christ we are His children, we live with peace. If He says it is His peace He gives, we do not fear. He keeps His promises.

I know it’s hard to set our emotions aside as we endure this year and the election process. Trust me, I know! But I challenge you that instead of driving yourself crazy on social media, wanting to “correct” and “enlighten” those who don’t think the same way, take it before the Lord. Right now, we have a president who has served this country for 4 years, like him or not, and we have a former vice president who has been in government for 47 years, like him or not. Both of them and their families need our prayers as this process goes on. No matter what side you stand politically, the only thing that should matter is that truth prevails. If ballots are counted honestly, and Biden wins, it’s going to be ok. If ballots are counted honestly, and President Trump wins, it’s going to be ok. Pray for the legal proceedings to expose any corruption that may be present. Pray for unity, not by a person, but through a love for this country, and a desire to see this country stand for integrity, truth, and freedom, one nation, under God.