A prayer for election day in the United States

It’s election day here in the U.S., God.

My head knows that you are at work in whatever happens.

But if I’m honest,

my heart is sick with worry about what the returns might bring.

My faith is not in vote tallies,

but they don’t just tell us who will hold office,

they reflect the lived values of our country.

My hope does not rest in institutions or leaders,

but both have the power to make decisions that lead to great good and great harm.

And this election in particular…it feels different.

The battle lines are sharp and thick.

We’ve all been army crawling through the past eight months.

The past four years have felt like the plot line of a YA dystopian novel.

While my heels rest on solid ground,

my toes wiggle over a precipice.

Help.

Send your Spirit of clarity to allow me - us - to assess the situation fully.

Send your Spirit of courage to gird us up to respond as needed.

Send your Spirit of compassion to bind us together in service to the good of all.

Send your Spirit of peace to ground us in what is eternal rather than in the anxiety of the moment.

May we be your people

just as you are our God,

now and forever.

Amen.

Photo by Tiffany Tertipes on Unsplash.