“Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.”  -Romans 13:1-3 [Message]

A Prayer on Election Day…
O God, we acknowledge you today as Lord, not only of individuals, but of nations and governments. We thank you for the privilege of voting that is ours–an opportunity to influence the direction our country will take by choosing those who will lead us.

Lord we thank you for your law of love, justice and grace which our founding fathers acknowledged and recognized as higher than any human law. May we seek to be true to your law above all else. We thank you for the opportunity this election puts before us, to exercise our solemn duty to vote thoughtfully and prayerfully. We pray that we, your people, may be awakened to spiritual reality on this day. Awaken in us the knowledge that we are not called to flee this world, but rather we are called to be a community of faith renewing the world.

Awaken in us an awareness that the same hands we lift to you in prayer are the hands that fill out our voting ballot; that the same eyes that read your word are the eyes that read the names of the candidates; and that we do not cease to be Christ-followers when we enter the voting booth.

Awaken in us a renewed commitment to justice and equity, that we may use our vote for the good of all God’s children and the betterment of the whole human community—of which we are one small part. Awaken in us a renewed commitment to care for each other, to steward the earth and to share the many gifts you have bestowed upon us.

May the way we vote today and the attitudes we carry with us as we vote show us to be citizens of your kingdom; people of hope in the midst of despair, joy in the midst of sorrow, faith in the midst of fear, truth in the midst of confusion, and generosity in the face of so many who are in need.

Indeed, we rejoice today that we are citizens of your kingdom. We pray that our spiritual citizenship will make us all the more committed to being faithful citizens of this earth. And may we put our trust in you always. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord and for the sake of his love. AMEN. –Adapted, Author unknown