On Saturday, September 7th, Australia goes to the polls to vote and to choose their Prime Minister and who will govern them for this next season. As with any election, this is an important time in the life of our nation. This coming weekend, our church will pray for the election in all of our gatherings. Our focus will be on four aspects:
First, we need to acknowledge that God is in control. He is sovereign over all matters on earth. Ultimately, his purpose will be accomplished. He puts one leader up and takes another down. He can put it into the hearts of people to do his will. We must trust him and honor him as the God over all the earth. Our lives are not subject to luck, fate or chance. We are in the providential hands of a loving, yet holy God.
Second, as citizens in a free democratic country, we need to take our responsibilities seriously. This includes the right to vote. All followers of Christ should do the due diligence and study the policies and values of each political candidate and political party. Unfortunately, it is usually a mixed bag and therefore priorities needs to be established and sometime compromises have to be made when making choices as to who to vote for.
Third, we want to encourage Christ-followers who have chosen to become involved in the political process and arena. We have numbers of people from our church community running as candidates for a variety of political parties who have a strong faith in Christ and who seek to use that for the common good of all. That is admirable. These people need our prayers and our support.
Fourth, no matter what, we should pray earnestly and consistently for whoever is in government, regardless of our like or dislike for them or their policies. God commands us to pray for those in leadership, because of the influence they have over our world (1 Tim.2:1-6).
The good news is that when the federal election is over, Jesus will still be Lord and the kingdom of God will continue to advance on the earth.