Fifty Days of Prayer for the National Election 2012 – Day 49

Focus:  Day Before Election
Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. Habakkuk 1:5
LORD, we have heard of Your fame; we stand in awe of Your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head above all. 1 Chron 29:11
For everyone born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4
O sing to the LORD a new song; for he Has done marvelous things: His right hand, and His holy arm, has gotten Him the victory [salvation]. Psalm 98:1
Almighty God, Ruler of All Things, our wondrous Heavenly Father,
We pray that we may witness the tearing down of principalities and powers in our nation that seek to supplant You and the truth of Your Word. Though we have great hope concerning the outcome of tomorrow’s election, in our hearts we recognize that the only victory that is worth seeking is the victory You have freely given us: the victory over sin, death, and the bonds of our flesh. We pray, Merciful Father, that You would tear down the strongholds that keep our nation in bondage to the evil one. Tear down the apostasy that has gripped Your Church. Tear down our fears, our envies, our arrogance, our insensitivity, our bitterness, our rebellion toward You, our lack of trust, and any barriers that keep us from knowing You fully. We pray that You would give us victory over the darkness that has encroached upon our nation. Give us victory in our lives, our church, our ministries. We give You permission, LORD, to topple down the idols in our lives. We want Your victory banner to fly over the United States of America announcing that we are a people who have been set free.
“Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly and in truth with My whole heart and with My whole being. For thus says the Lord: As I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.” Jeremiah 32:41-42
Father, how heart-cheering to us is to know that You delight in Your saints! (Is. 65: 19) We cannot see any reason in ourselves why You would take pleasure in us; we do not take delight in ourselves, for we often groan, being burdened, conscious of our sinfulness, and deploring our unfaithfulness; and we fear that other believers cannot take much delight in us, for they must perceive so much of our imperfections and our follies, that they lament our infirmities rather than admire our graces.
But we love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious mystery: that as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so do You rejoice over us. (Is 62: 5) It is not mentioned in Your Word that You delight in the majestic cloud-capped mountains, or the sparkling stars, or the raging seas. It is not written that even angels give You delight; nor do You say, concerning cherubim and seraphim, as You say about us, “You shall be called Hephzibah, for the Lord delights in You.” (Is. 62:4) We read that You delight in the habitable parts of the earth, and that Your delight is with the sons of men. For the LORD takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with victory. (Psalm 149: 4)
To our utter amazement, You say all of this to poor fallen creatures like ourselves, debased and depraved by sin, but saved, exalted, and glorified by Your grace. In what strong language You express Your delight in Your people! Who could have conceived of the Eternal One as bursting forth into a song? Yet it is written, “He will rejoice over you with joy, you will rest in His love, He will joy over you with singing.” (Zeph. 3: 17) As You looked upon the world You made, You said, “It is very good”; but when You beheld those who are the purchase of Jesus’ blood, Your own chosen ones, it seemed as if Your great infinite heart could restrain itself no longer, but overflowed in divine exclamations of joy. We proclaim our grateful response to such a marvelous declaration of Your love, and sing, “We will rejoice in the Lord, we will joy in the God of our salvation!”
Holy God, as Your children, once again, we ask for Your powerful visitation upon America. May this be the acceptable time that You will hear and rescue us. May we witness in this election Your salvation. As we pray for mercy in these last hours, would You help us to be attentive to the magnitude of what this means. Jehovah-Shammah, You are present, faithful, and always with us, in all Your dealings with us, whether we are weak or erring, strong or glad.
As Andrew Murray wrote, Satan’s word is always “tomorrow.” It is the word of unbelief. Forgive us that we often find Your demand too great for today; Your promise too high; Your comfort too unattainable. Your Holy Spirit says, “Today.” We acknowledge that He Who is Your mighty power is ready to work in us all that You will and ask; it is Your Holy Spirit Who is each moment pleading for our immediate surrender, for a present trust, because He bears the power of a Present Salvation.
Today! Now! These are words of such wonderful promise to us. They inform us that Today, this very moment, Your wondrous love is for us – even now waiting to be poured into our hearts. Today, all that Christ has done, and is now doing in heaven, and is able to do within each of us – is this very day within our reach. Today the Holy Spirit is within us, sufficient for every need, equal to every emergency. With every cry to You we find the supply of grace to meet temporal and spiritual needs. With every prayer we breathe and every longing that rules our hearts, there is Your Spirit of promise whispering, “Today.”
Today is a word of solemn command, and we do not want to take it lightly. We do not want to reject the choice of whether or not we will receive the fullness of the blessing the Holy Spirit offers. We want to respond to Your call and say, “Yes, Today!” Lord, we desire to surrender a present and perfect trust in all Your grace. Help us, Father, to open our hearts in great tenderness to listen to You and obey You, and receive the gift of power, hope, and growth available to us now as we pray for the election tomorrow and for the challenges that confront each of our lives.
We pray this promise for every member of Your Church: that over each of us is written the words, “Now is the accepted time, even as the Holy Spirit says, Today.” We pray believing You desire only good for our nation and that You will appoint a man to be President over this great land who seeks Your righteousness. We pray for men and women who fear You to be elected to positions in the House, Senate, and state legislatures.
“Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other!”
You, O LORD, watch over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence and destruction of the wicked and make the righteous secure. Rise up, O LORD, confront those who oppose You and bring them down. Arouse Yourself! Stir Yourself! Rescue us from the wicked by Your mighty sword. We will be still before the LORD and wait patiently for You; we will not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though we look for them, they will not be found. Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for He guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Forgive us and restore us once again to a nation that honors You. Your Word says, “Hope thou in God.” We place our lives, our country, our children, our future, all that we are in Your capable hands, acknowledging that we are a weak people. In You, our weaknesses are made strong. We ask that You outstretch Your mighty arm and cover us with Your righteousness. May the bright hope for tomorrow grant us peace for today.
We beseech You for mercy and good government, for the election of candidates and the approval of issues that reflect biblical truth, virtue, and character. We pray that godly local, state, and national pro-life and traditional family candidates will be granted favor with voters. May the candidates we choose tomorrow be used as instruments to advance Your Kingdom in our nation and in the world. We pray that Christians and God-fearing citizens will exercise their privilege, duty, and responsibility to vote. In the Mighty Name of Your Son we pray, with every grateful expectation that You hear our voices and rejoice over us with singing. Amen.
The Lord will not cast off His people; neither will He forsake His inheritance. Great events are most certainly in the womb of futurity. Abigail Adams
Resistance to tyranny becomes the Christian and social duty of each individual… Continue steadfast and, with a proper sense of your dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us. (John Hancock, 1st Signer of the Declaration of Independence, History of the United States of America, Vol. II, p. 229).
We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, form a more perfect government, insure domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare, do establish this constitution. (Preamble to the Constitution of Wisconsin)