THE KING WILL HEAR YOU
Prayer: We are asking You, Dear Lord, raise up Godly leaders throughout our land. We ask You to tear down abortion and anti-family laws. Please lead our nation into revival. Thank You, Lord. Amen.
Scripture: In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice.” Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel. 2 Samuel 15:1-5 NIV
King David had many wives and many sons. His third son was Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur. He was very ambitious and cunning. He desired to be King and plotted and promised his way into the hearts of the people in hopes of taking the throne from his father, David.
It was the custom of that time to go and ask the king to make a decision when you had complaints or disputes that could not be settled on your own or between another citizen and yourself. The people sought the king’s wisdom and followed his verdict believing that God had set him on the throne to maintain justice and righteousness. As people came to see the king, Absalom had placed himself on the road leading to the gate of the city, and would lie to the people saying there was no one from the king’s court to hear them. He was telling them that under this king, his father, they would never be heard and therefore never receive justice. But, he continued, if he were ever king, I promise I would hear everyone’s needs and make sure everyone received justice and got what they needed. Does any of this sound familiar?
I beg you, even insist, that this meeting not turn political as we sit at the edge of our election day. We have been praying that you would seek the Lord in your decision but not seek to campaign for your choice during the time set aside to seek the Lord. At this time, please keep all names out of the conversation, all opinions to yourself, and let’s learn a couple of things together from God’s word.
From the beginning of governing rulers, there has never been a perfect one. We are all human, we all make mistakes, and it is impossible to please everyone. There are also many things we do not know. We do not have access to military or government secrets or intelligence. We do not fully understand what people, even in neighboring states, much less across the nation, need or what they are troubled with. What we know is what we want and what we think we need. That is why we get one vote. It is an important vote. I am amazed at how many people I meet have cast aside the value of their vote feeling it does not really count. The people of the Old Testament traveled great distances to make their voices heard and to receive and restore righteousness. We must take the time, no matter how long the line, to make sure we cast our vote.
The second example we should follow is that they went before the king for wisdom and a decision. I do not know about you, but I need all the help with wisdom I can get and there are many decisions I just have to trust God to make. Prayer is essential to this election. I have been concerned over the moral decline and the lack of godliness in our nation. I have been begging God to be patient and merciful with us, but I fear His patience is running out, as it did with His people Israel, in the Old Testament Scriptures. I fear that we may be about to get what we deserve, what we as a nation have been asking for, or at least the loud voices of our nation have been asking for. We have got to pray through this election. Even if there is not a clear-cut candidate that you can see following Jesus in their life, vote your values and value your vote. Pray and pray and pray some more. Ask God to open our eyes to see His plan for our nation and to raise up leaders who will extend His righteousness and justice. Ask God to open the hearts of the candidates to Him, to draw them nearer to Him, to speak into their lives. Pray it through.
For many months now, we have heard promise after promise, like Absalom’s “If only I was…” speech. We know from experience how many promises are broken, how limited one’s power really is in working with other decision makers. We also know that God can do anything, His power is infinite and we need to follow Him first. He is our King, and we need to seek His wisdom and righteousness in these election decisions.
My prayer for you is that you would seek the King, vote your values – His values, and value your vote. The King will hear you.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]