Author: John Page 133 of 166

Psalm 33:10 “The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.”

President Adams, speaking to members of the military, stated the following:

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

We bemoan a government whose counsels are brought to nought, whose governance is ineffectual.  Yet, such a condition should come as no surprise to a nation unbridled by morality and religion.  Our Constitution is inadequate for such a context.  Our vote, without adherence to Christian principle, would be similarly inadequate.

Christians, hopeful for change, must erase the mistaken perspective that there should be a separation between our values and our votes.  Our Constitution was never designed with such a separation in mind, and will produce nothing of value if the current chasm continues.  PLEASE PRAY THAT CHRISTIANS WOULD CLING TO VALUE-BASED VOTING.  Through our votes and our prayers, we must bridle our nation and return to a fear of the Lord.

I Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

In what is known as his ‘Farewell Address’ President Washington wrote the following:

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

President Washington recognized the important principle that neither the pious man nor the mere politician should neglect the tie between religion, morality, prosperity, and felicity.  Anyone who would subvert religious practice and moral principle or disrespect the foundational roles they play in national well-being would claim patriotism in vain.  We must remember this important admonition as we cast our votes.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD VOTE WITH CHRISTIAN MORALITY AS THEIR PRIMARY BASIS.  Godliness is profitable unto all things, and our nation must immediately reaffix itself to the indispensible supports of Christian morality and religion.  Public and private felicity hang in the balance.

Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

Founding Father John Jay said:

“No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion allied and accepted by all the classes. Should our Republic ere forget this fundamental precept of governance, men are certain to shed their responsibilities for licentiousness and this great experiment will surely be doomed.”

American citizens grieve when leaders shed their responsibilities for licentiousness.  We are sorrowful that the great experiment of our nation appears doomed.  Yet, we rarely consider the important truth that this experiment was never to be founded upon anything other than Christ.  Blessings are to flow from faithfulness, not from freedom.

In this great experiment, Christian moral precepts were interwoven into our society.  Similarly, they are to be interwoven into our political consideration.  They are to be interwoven into our votes.  They are to be interwoven into those for whom we should vote.

We must be weary of ourselves when we set aside our moral precepts as we enter the voting booth.  We must be weary of those who claim that their moral precepts are not factors in their public policy.  We must be weary of our nation when we cling to anything other than Christian principles as a fundamental precept of governance.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN LEADERS, ELECTED OR UP-FOR-ELECTION, TO EMBRACE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRECEPTS UNDIVIDED FROM THEIR PUBLIC PERSONA.  Our votes can steady a staggering nation by returning us to a Christian foundation.  Blessings can replace impending doom, but only by putting the Lord first.

II Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Alexis de Tocqueville, the French historian and political philosopher, was struck by the impact that Christianity had on the United States he observed in the 19^th Century.   Though he was not a Christian, he wrote:

“There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America, and there can be no greater proof of its utility and of its conformity to human nature than that its influence is powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth.”

Our nation’s Christian principles were unmistakable to the outside observer.  In fact, such observation yielded one compelling conclusion – the great influence of Christianity had produced a remarkable nation.  Christianity was foundational and fundamental to our national character; it was not to be ignored by those we elect nor was it to be severed from our vote.  Christianity’s integration into American character was a perfect match in that it reconciled human nature with liberty.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FOLLOW THEIR BELIEFS WITH THEIR VOTE.  Enlightenment and freedom were never intended to flow from human constructs.  Instead, they were intended to flow as gifts from the Lord based on the principles of Christ.  Our votes should be based on the same.

Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

William Arthur Ward wrote:  “We must be silent before we can listen. We must listen before we can learn. We must learn before we can prepare. We must prepare before we can serve. We must serve before we can lead.”

In order to be a true leader, one must be a true servant.  As we consider those whom we would elect, we need to seek those who would serve.  Otherwise, we risk getting leaders in name only.

As Christians in the electorate, we should support those whose desire for elected office stems not from following gain, but from following God.  The desires of the heart of a worthy leader result from a history of delighting the Lord.  The manifestation of such a heart is a life characterized by service that benefits others.  Any past devoid of selfless service is indicative of a heart that has never been molded by delight in God, resulting in an unqualified leader likely to be seeking office for the wrong reasons.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD USE DEMONSTRATED SERVICE AS A PROMINENT INDICATION OF WORTHINESS FOR ELECTED OFFICE.  Too often, the noise of an election drowns out the ability to discern the source of a heart’s desires, which are critical indicators of those worthy of our vote.