Praying About Presidential Politics

Florida is always an important state when it comes to Presidential politics. We have 27 electoral college votes (10% of the winning total). We’re a “swing state” as was highlighted in the 2000 Bush/Gore election. And now we’ve got the Republican National Convention coming to town. Yikes!

For people who believe in the power of prayer to bring healthy outcomes to anything and everything, including politics, this seems like a great opportunity. But how to go about it? Try Googling prayer and politics and you’ll likely get lost in a maze of different takes on the issue of religion and politics. But there isn’t much for the person who wants to know “how” to pray about Presidential elections.

I did find a few exceptions. One was a Huffington Post offering by Jim Wallis from 2008 titled, My Prayer for Election Day. I liked it for these reasons:

1. It was inclusive and unlimited, not favoring a particular party or candidate. No battle lines.

2. It was a prayer of gratitude for good already received, acknowledging the history of successful struggles for voting rights.

3. It was an unselfish prayer, including those who represent ideas different from our own.

4. It was a fearless prayer, encouraging a vote based on the positive values we embrace rather than negativity and fear based manipulation.

5. It was a BIG prayer for all nations, not just our own.

I felt good just reading about this kind of prayer and it made we want to get busy and start praying. My own prayer will likely include gratitude for the availability of this kind of prayerful thinking online. And actually the more I looked the more I found.

Here’s an example of an online forum which asks the question, “Can prayer make a difference when it comes to politics?”

The fascinating answers come from all over the world…Kenya, California, Ethiopia, South Carolina and right here in Florida.

Check it out, add your own answer…and offer your own prayer.