On May 17, 1776, John Witherspoon stepped into the pulpit at Princeton on a day of fasting the Continental Congress had appointed for all the colonies. War had already begun and independence was less than two months away. Witherspoon, a Presbyterian minister and soon-to-be signer of the Declaration of Independence, called the occasion a “day of solemn humiliation.” Before he said a word about the conflict, he turned his hearers’ eyes to the sovereign providence of God.
He closed with a prayer: “God grant that in America true religion and civil liberty may be inseparable, and that the unjust attempts to destroy the one, may in the issue tend to the support and establishment of both.”
Consider the word humiliation, which sounds strange to modern ears. Witherspoon meant a day when a people humble themselves before God, confessing their sins and seeking his mercy. We do well to take heed. Few things would serve our country better this weekend. Before Tuesday’s ballots are cast, the church can do what Witherspoon’s generation did: bow low and ask the Lord to have mercy on our land.
Humbled Before God
Humility begins with confession, and confession begins with the church. Scripture says judgment begins “at the household of God” (1 Pet. 4:17). We have prayed too little. We have placed more hope in political victories than in the gospel, and we have often treated those on the other side with contempt instead of love.
Our nation more broadly has its own confession to make. We have forgotten that God is the giver of all good gifts. We have shed innocent blood, and we have rejected God’s design for marriage and the family.
By way of illustration, consider Daniel. When Daniel prayed for his people in exile, he didn’t list their virtues. He confessed, “We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled” (Dan. 9:5). Then he stood on the only ground any people has before God: “We do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy” (Dan. 9:18).
That mercy has a name. In Jesus Christ, who bore the judgment sinners deserve and rose from the dead, God’s grace is offered to people from every nation. Because of him, we can “draw near to the throne of grace” with confidence (Heb. 4:16).
A Bold Request
Having humbled ourselves, we are liberated to ask boldly. Psalm 67 gives us the words: “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us.” The psalmist echoes the blessing God commanded the priests to speak over Israel (Num. 6:24–26). God is not reluctant to bless.
The psalm also tells us why we ask—“that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations” (Ps. 67:2). We seek God’s blessing on America for the sake of his name, so that a nation flourishing under his hand might point beyond itself to him.
The Harvest We Long For
Twice the psalmist cries, “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” (Ps. 67:3, 5). That prayer is being answered as the gospel goes to every nation, just as God promised Abraham that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3).
This is our deepest prayer for America. Laws can restrain evil, but only the Spirit of God can change a human heart. We need more than a good outcome on Tuesday. We need an awakening, a season when our neighbors turn to Christ in great numbers, and the praise of God rises from every corner of the land.
Praying for Those Who Will Govern
Paul urged the church to pray “for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:2). That includes every name on Tuesday’s ballot, those we support and those we oppose. The winners will need wisdom. Those who lose will need grace. All of them answer to the God of Psalm 67, who judges the peoples with equity and guides the nations upon earth.
Prayer and Duty
Prayer never excuses us from duty. Witherspoon told his hearers he would have them neither “trust in an arm of flesh, nor sit with folded hands and expect that miracles should be wrought in your defence.” So we pray, and then we vote, leaving the outcome with the One who holds it.
The psalm ends in confidence: “God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!” (Ps. 67:7). Whatever happens on Tuesday, Christ is still King.
A Prayer for Election Day
Gracious Father, Ruler of the nations,
We humble ourselves before you. Forgive your church for our prayerlessness and for trusting in our own strength. Forgive our nation for the innocent blood we have shed and for rejecting your good design.
We approach you through your mercy, not our merit. Be gracious to us and bless us. Make your face shine upon our land, that your way may be known on earth and your saving power among all nations.
Give wisdom to those who will govern and a holy fear of your name. Give integrity and safety to all who serve in our elections. Grant peace in the days ahead and keep your people faithful, whatever the outcome.
Send your Spirit to awaken our land. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. Your kingdom come, your will be done, here in our land as it is in heaven.
In the name of Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen.
