Prayer can sometimes be a very confusing phenomenon, you know? Like, if God is all knowing and all powerful, what good are my prayers? If he already knows what’s going to happen and already has his mind made up, then why should I even pray?

But you know what. Jesus prayed. Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself in the flesh, the perfect sacrifice, our savior… prayed. He prayed so fervently for The Father to take away his burden that “His sweat became like great drops of blood.” (Luke 22:44 ESV). Since we should be like Christ, I’m going to pray. I don’t know if I can change God’s mind. But Jesus prayed in that hope. But you also have to remember that Jesus ultimately answered to God’s will even when it was something He didn’t want to do.

Oh, not to mention that Jesus commanded us to pray and even gave us a model prayer (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).

So why am I talking about prayer? Well, the presidential primaries are over. It looks like we have our presidential nominees. And I am praying.

I am praying for many reasons. The first being that we are told to pray for our leaders in 1 Timothy 2:1-2. I am also praying because I believe God has a plan and I believe he hasn’t abandoned our country.

So I pray that His choice of candidate will become our president. I pray that He grants us with a leader better than we deserve. I also pray that once that candidate becomes president, he or she will listen to God’s voice and follow His guidance (Psalm 16:1-7, Proverbs 1:5-6, Philippians 4:13).

I pray that those of us who trust in the lord will not be shaken no matter the outcome of the election (Psalm 125). I pray we will all treat each other with respect and civility no matter our stance on issues.

I pray that we believers understand that the president is not the only authority that we answer to and that the US Government is not equal to God in any way. They can’t save us. They can’t accomplish final justice. Only God can.

I pray that us Christians will vote (or not vote) for what we truly believe is right. Not for the “lesser of two evils.”

And lastly, I pray that God will protect the candidates and their families. I pray for their physical protection but also their emotional and physical protection. Running for president is hard. And holding the office is even harder. (I have House of Cards to thank for my knowledge on that!)

If you think God has abandoned us, remember the prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 15:16). Even if you don’t think God has abandoned us, remember the prayer of a righteous man avails much. Our prayers have power.

Thanks for reading.