Not My Will but Yours O LORD: Yes, Even When Called to Prayer in a Democratic Election
An act of surrender is rarely easy. Even our right to vote is vital to the Kingdom and yet it can be difficult to hear the LORD’s will, because our own thoughts, emotions, experiences and opinions often blot out our ability to hear God’s voice even when we ask. As the world keeps harping on Human Rights, we can so easily buy into that incantation. But when we gave our lives to the LORD, we gave them fully, didn’t we? Unconditionally, we are thankful and keen to follow the Messiah who gave his life so we could live eternally with him.
In every thing we are called to surrender to God. “Not my will but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) It’s what Jesus said in the garden and what I aim to do in everything. We all have our moments of Gethsemane haven’t we? Yet, some things are easy to surrender while other things are not.
In our society we have our rights, our freedoms. But in Christ, we have our freedom and liberty to be who God created us to be, while simultaneously yielding everything to him in order to be free from the world, sin and the devil.
How much is everything? 
I do not succeed to surrender fully, but I keep trying. “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” (Romans 7:14-15)
There have been and continue to be a lot of elections. In the past 12 months the American election and fall-out has been in the headlines repeatedly. The UK and Brexit have been highlighted and the French elections have brought forth huge change. Across Europe there seems to be a big divide between socialism and capitalism that has grown wider and split nations. But in the midst of all this commotion, surely the LORD’s still small voice is speaking.
But are we listening?
When Samuel was prophet to Israel, the people pleaded for a king, to be like other nations, even though God did not want them to have a king. Today, we may feel strongly in favour or against a particular person or party, but as Believers, surely we must vote for God’s purposes.
Throughout the Bible, He used kings to bless or to curse the nations. There are heinous leaders and there are brilliant ones, but according to scripture, we get the leaders we deserve and GOD’s sovereignty brings particular governors at particular times.
How can we apply surrender in our voting and our politics?
We pray, as in all things, all decisions, all activities. Our lives surrendered to Jesus are not our own.
And what if we don’t hear from God on a voting matter? As in all things, we do our best to seek the LORD and listen to His reply. If we don’t hear Him then we must do our best to practice what we know from His Word. But we must try… try to hear Him for He does speak. We must ask, and we must obey.
“So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.” (1Samuel 15:22)