Before Sitting This One Out …

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[I]f anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchmen accountable for his blood. – Ezekiel 33: 4 & 6

I’m part of a group of women – prayer warriors – who pray together for the nation once a week. (At 71, I’m possibly the youngest in the group!) We may seem small, but we’re doing what we can, praying that the American people, especially the Church, will repent of our sins of commission, and especially our sins of omission. If you are one of the large block of American Evangelicals who do not vote, and who haven’t even registered to vote, before sitting out another election, please consider the following:

In the Bible we read about whole civilizations that experienced judgment (or consequences) for the evil actions of their leaders, although ordinary citizens of these countries had no say in what their leaders did. How much more will we be accountable if we do have a voice but remain silent as our leaders take us down the road to disaster?

Evil and corruption have inundated America, from our government to our media, to our education system, to our entertainment, and virtually every other area of our culture. The reason the country is in the state it’s in is because the Church has remained silent for so long on moral issues that have been redefined as “political.”

As Eric Metaxas pointed out in his book, Letter to the American Church, if the Church in Germany in the 1930’s had resisted Hitler’s forces, the outcome might have been vastly different. But precious few believers took a stand, while the rest just “sang a little louder” to drown out the bothersome screams of the Jews being transported past their churches to the concentration camps. It’s possible that the Christians in Germany in the 30’s were unaware of the scope of what was happening, and perhaps we could give them the benefit of the doubt. But today in America we have no such excuse. It is all too clear the direction this country is heading. “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

It’s true that there are no perfect choices in this election; the candidates are deeply flawed, but so are we! If we “sit this one out,” refusing to vote for “the lesser of two evils,” we are letting a vote for the greater evil go unchallenged. I believe we will be held accountable for what we could have done but didn’t. If we fail to vote out of sheer laziness, shame on us. If we’re neglecting to make our voice because we refuse to be associated with imperfect policies or people (not wanting to get our hands dirty), God is not impressed.

(Sticking one’s head in the sand leaves other parts of the anatomy vulnerable.)

If we believe Christians should “stick to preaching the gospel,” (exactly what Hitler told the German church to do) and not get into anything “political,” look around you – everything is political these days. Note that even what used to be the two “safest” topics of conversation – one’s health and the weather – have been politicized!

(I’m glad Queen Esther didn’t refuse to get involved in politics.)

This is not a contest of Republican versus Democrat or liberal versus conservative. It’s a matter of good versus evil.

We can’t save America, but we are called to be salt (Matthew 5: 13), which doesn’t stop the decaying process altogether but does slow it down. Woe to us if we sit by, say nothing, and watch our country rot.

Is it too late now for the Church to speak up? There’s only one way to find out.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we see the state of the world today, and it’s easy to feel helpless to do anything about it. But You have enlisted us in Your army, and it is a vast army! You have armed Your people with “the full armor of God” and joined us together with the angelic armies of heaven. Give us each discernment to know what part we play in occupying until You come and help us not to shirk our duty. Give us courage to take a stand, strength to be faithful, and supernatural boldness and protection as we confront evil. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Published by seekingdivineperspective

I am a forgiven sinner and adopted child of God, seeking to see life from His perspective - as opposed to the world's flawed perspective - and living my life accordingly.

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42 thoughts on “Before Sitting This One Out …”

  3. This is a fabulous post, Annie! Thank you for expressing the sentiments of many who are timid about speaking out because of the backlash from those who differ in opinion. You’re being respectfully diplomatic by encouraging others to vote for the lesser of two evils. We all battle evil within us, but one of the current candidates is not putting up a fight. I prayed your fantastic prayer in addition to my own daily prayer asking for God’s army of angels to protect both candidates from harm. God bless you, Annie! 🙂

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    1. Amen, Nancy, thank you. I remember well on Wednesday July 10, one of the ladies interrupted our prayer, saying, “Ladies, we need to pray for (D.T.)! They’re going to try to kill him.” Three days later …

      (I make no assumptions about whom she meant by “they.”)

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  4. Amen!!! Annie, This is a much needed post and I agree completely. I am astounded at how easily the devil has been able to deceive our citizens. And he has done this through his lies, especially from the media. People too easily believe what they are told to believe. Please thank the prayer warriors of your group. I know God has called you to this mission. God bless all of you as you intercede for our nation!

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  5. Thank you, Annie, for urging us to vote and pray. People have a host of reasons for not voting, but it’s more than just a “patriotic duty.” As I wrote last week, some of our spiritual leaders have said our nation is living under God’s judgment, which may be true, but we Christians are still called to stand firm in loving obedience and truth.

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  8. Metaxas’ books are challenging, especially “Letter to the American Church.”
    Jeremiah was told not to pray for Israel because she had gone too far. I fear this is where we are as well, yet Jeremiah obviously stayed in conversation with YHWH, which IS prayer.
    So keep on praying and trust Father to lead us through dark times ahead.
    ❤️&🙏, c.a.

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  13. You are so right, Annie! Thank you so much for this post. The idea that a con man who is also a convicted felon, serial sexual abuser, pathological liar, thoroughly incompetent businessman, and demented aspiring mini-Hitler even gets to run for DOG CATCHER is absolutely insane. I hope people who read your post get out there and send him back to that Florida swamp where he belongs.

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    1. Russ, you have some very strong opinions. I wrote this post to encourage people to prayerfully make their voices heard. Those of us calling ourselves Christ-followers should be lifting up all the candidates and praying for safety, wisdom, and of course, salvation for them, as well as widespread repentance for the whole nation. (II Chronicles 7:14) There are platforms for accusations and bashing, but I don’t want this to be one of them. This blog is seeking divine perspective, and according to that perspective, we’re all fallen creatures, badly in need of God’s mercy.

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      1. I was right there with you on the entire blog content, Annie. That is, right up until the story was told in the comments section about the woman who foretold the assassination attempt on D.T. At that point the blog veered away from being a simple, heartfelt plea for prayerfulness and veered into being a partisan promotion piece.

        I also pray for our country and for saner heads to prevail. But I also know that no politician – Republican, Democrat, Green or other – will ever have the power to transform the hearts and minds of anyone. That is the sole province of God and God’s Holy Spirit. Thank you for your faithful witness.

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    2. I was answering the comment about praying for the safety of the candidates and trying to make the (debatable) point that prayer makes a difference. We always pray for the safety of all the candidates, but so far only one has been shot at. I wouldn’t wish assassination on any candidate. I apologize if that came across as partisan. It wasn’t meant to be.

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    1. Praying for you, Linda. 🙏 I don’t know what the election laws are in New Mexico, but hopefully there’s a way to vote securely without risking anyone else’s health. You do have ten days, so there’s a good chance it will have run it’s course by then. 🙏🙏🙏

      (Drink water, get sleep, take your vitamin D, C, quercitin, and zinc! And stay positive! – Nurse Annie ❤️)

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