So many are in turmoil about the upcoming election.  Many are baffled to learn that fellow Christians are aligning with the liberal, socialistic, anti-Christian agenda.  They are also in shock to hear that some Christians have decided not to vote at all because they don’t like the more conservative (though not fully conservative) candidate.  They say things like “I have to vote my conscience”.  Let me ask you, would a true Christian’s conscience tell them to vote for one who blatantly takes ungodly stands, or not to vote at all?  No way!

I have heard many Christians say, “But how are we to pray?”  The answer is easy!

• We must pray that God’s will be done. 
• We must pray that the schemes of the enemy be exposed.
• We must pray that Christians will vote based on the Word, not their own pocketbooks.
• We must pray that the eyes and ears of all people be opened to hear the truth and not be swayed or deluded by worldy charisma and persuasion.
• Pray for God’s people to be doers, not only hearers, of the Word! (James 1:22)

When we don’t know what to pray, we are to pray as the Word tells us in Romans 8:26:

So too, the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it as worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads on our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.  (NLT)

We must take a stand for all that is godly and not back down.

Please get out and vote according to the Word!  Don’t believe the lie that your opinion doesn’t count!

Remember the old adage:  All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. 

Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  Psalm 121:4

The other day I heard a preacher say “God works the night shift!” and I thought how true that is!

I have not had a full night’s sleep in many months.  It has been frustrating to say the least.  I go to sleep right away, but every night, somewhere between 1am and 3 am, I wake up.  I am awake for at least one hour, though it is usually for two to three hours; finally, sleep comes again about 5am, just about when it’s time to get up!

The thoughts that whirl though my mind in the wee hours run the gamut from my kids to finances to the upcoming election to the eternal.  Sometimes there are some very panicky thoughts:  Where is the money we need going to come from?  What will happen to this country if the liberals win?  Will my husband’s mother ever get better?  Are my kids going to be ok?  When will I be able to close the big sale?  How can we help all the people who come to us in need?  I have found the only way to stop these anxiety-ridden thoughts is to speak out loud and command them to stop.  Seriously.  I say aloud, “Devil, it may be true that I don’t have the answers right now, but God does.  Stop bothering me about it now, go talk to Him!”  Then I pray.  I mostly pray in the Spirit because I don’t always know how to pray, or for whom.  I also make the choice to think on all the troubles and situations God has brought me through before, and that helps me to know He is there helping me through the current batch!

Other times, there are some yucky thoughts spinning in my head:  Why do you procrastinate so much?  When are you ever going to lose some weight, fatso?  How can God love you when you screw up all the time?  You always blow it, when are you going to do it right?  Who do you think you are that anyone would want to read what you write?  You’re already 50, what have you accomplished in this life?  These thoughts are hard to silence and they bring a lot of shame.  I’ve learned that I have to take control over them immediately or else I will slip quickly into a pit of despair.  Again, to stop them I speak out loud, “Devil, in the name of Jesus, I command you to leave me alone.  My Dad loves me and thinks I’m swell, even if I am not perfect.  If you have a problem with me, go talk to Him about it!”   I start thinking on the scriptures that speak of giving our cares to the Lord and about how faithful He is to us.  Praying in the Spirit usually takes me back to sleep.

Some nights I know God has tapped me on the shoulder just to talk to me!  Those are the nights I ask Him, “OK Lord, who do you want me to pray for now?”  Usually, one specific person will come to mind and I will pray over that person; sometimes many people will be brought to my memory and I pray for them all.  Again, because I don’t always know what to pray, I pray in the Spirit.

I keep a notebook, pen and flashlight on my nightstand so I can write down things that come to me during these quiet hours.  Many times God will give me the title for an article, or the solution to a problem I am having, or someone He wants me to talk to, or even a new recipe I can create!  I have found that writing these things down lets me put them out of my mind for the time being, and brings clarity in the morning.  It is easy to forget if I don’t memorialize them.

The best part of not sleeping?  It reminds me that God does not sleep!  He is always on call, always at the ready, to commune with us.  Lately, I must say, I have been asking Him, “But, do we have to do it at 3 am?”  Yet, I know this season will pass.  But while it is here, I am grateful that He cares.

Spending time alone with God is one way you can get to know Him and know that He is good!  Seeking Him early each day will cause your day to be blessed and prosperous.

I remember, years ago, when I was a single mom and a business owner, never seeming to have the time to spend with the Lord.  I was extremely busy, yet still wanted to get to know Him better.  My bed felt too good in the morning to get up extra early, but if I waited until evening I would fall asleep or be so overwhelmed by the day’s activities I put off going to Him.  I felt so burdened to spend time with Him and bemoaned the fact to Him often!

One day I heard the Lord clearly say “Get up at 4:30 in the morning!”  My first thought was, “WHAT???  You’ve got to be kidding!  I already get up so early!  4:30?  Are You sure???”   But, He bugged me about it and I determined to do as He said.  When I struggled with it, I heard Him say, “It only hurts when it is time to get up!”  Wow.  Isn’t He good?  It’s so true.  When the alarm goes off it hurts, but once you are up it is no problem.  After all these years of getting up early and spending time with Him, I cannot imagine starting my day any other way.  (Since I sold my business, 4:30 is no longer when I get up, but I still spend my first time of the day with God.)

There is biblical precedence for doing this!  Even Jesus spent time with the Lord in the wee morning hours:

Mark 1:35  Now, in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place and He prayed.

Ezekiel 12:8  And in the morning came the word of the Lord to me.

Psalm 5:3  My voice shall Thou hear in the morning, Oh Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.

Psalm 63:1  God You are my God.  Early I will seek You.

Psalm 88:13  In the morning my prayer comes before You.

Psalm 133:8  Cause me to hear Your loving kindness in the morning.

Luke 21:38  And all the people came early in the morning to Him in the temple, for to hear Him.

Even the Proverbs 31 woman knew to seek Him early:  v 16:  She rises while it is yet night and gets spiritual food for her household.

I encourage you to start your day off right by spending time with Him – the rewards are great!

There is an old adage:  “All it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.”

In the church today is a grievous twisting of the Word becoming prevalent.  Many say we must love what God says we are to hate.  They believe that it is being loving and showing grace.  But it is a perverted teaching of God’s love and grace.  If we say we must love what God hates, we are saying we are holier than God!  God does not tolerate evil and calls us not to as well.

Isaiah 5:20   Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.   

God is pretty clear about His children hating what He hates.  How does that play out in real life, one may ask.

When you see injustice, it means you do what you can to correct it; you don’t let it go because you are afraid to get involved.

When you see evil, you stand up to it boldly; you don’t tolerate it.

When your friend is mistreated, you honor your friend; you don’t keep associating with the one(s) who betrayed your friend, thereby condoning the bad.

When one who claims to be a Christian is living in blatant sin, you are to let them know; if they do not refrain, you are to have nothing to do with them.

When you are a witness to those teaching false doctrine, you don’t continue to associate with them; you present them with the truth.  If they do not heed, you break off relationship – you don’t keep hanging around them.

Does it sound harsh?  Yes, it does, especially in this age of tolerance and political correctness that says we are to accept everyone and everything.  But God calls us to be brave and bold and to stand for what He stands for.

Scripture references:  Proverbs 6:16-19; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 Corinthians 5:11; Psalm 11:5; Psalm 26:2-5; Matthew 18:15-17