With the polls closed and the presidential elections over, it's time for houses of prayer to open and stay open. The passion many Christians display on social media of all kinds in support of their preferred political agenda must now be channeled into prayer networks for God's projects.
As someone who grew up in a political family and experienced firsthand the exercise of power in the highest offices of state, I remain convinced that human anger does not accomplish God's justice. Christians must be involved in politics, but let us not forget their primary duty, that of calling for God's intervention in the life of their nation.
We have been commanded by God to pray for the authorities, let us hasten to do so; every new election is an opportunity to renew this commitment. We elect, whatever the political side, imperfect and fallible men, but no political program can withstand the assault of the prayers of the saints; no politician can permanently escape the action of God. Queen Mary of Scotland understood this, she who said she was more afraid of the prayers of John Knox than of all the armies of Europe combined.
To bring about change in a society, it is first the people of God who must change. The church must get used to getting down on its knees, fasting, depriving itself, and stepping out of its comfort zone. When people tell me that we have prayed enough, I see people who don't know what prayer is.
To bring about change in a nation, we must change hearts, and hearts only change because we call on God to incline hearts toward Him, and both are brought to the knowledge of Christ. We want to impose Christian values in a society without Christian conviction. Impossible. Many Christians already relativize these values, relativize the exclusivity of Christ. The assault on our minds is real. And that is the real battle: winning the hearts of men to Christ and persuading them to adopt His values. Politicians will follow because they always follow the desires of the people.
But, to do this, the Christians of France, whether native French or from elsewhere, must tirelessly raise their voices before the Lord for the nation. I am not unaware of the fact that a significant percentage of evangelical Christians in France are either foreign or of foreign origin, and that some may have been disturbed or even hurt by certain positions taken by other Christians. The fact remains that everyone has a responsibility before God to love and work for the well-being of the nation where He is established. And in the kingdom of God there is no voiceless person; all freely exercise the right to vote in favor of God's plans in prayer, a vote that wins – always.
So, more than ever, we must fill the streets and the media with the message of the Gospel, the hope of humanity. Let us be clear: the new president is neither the Messiah nor the antichrist; nor is the old one either. But it is not impossible that he is a Cyrus whom the Lord will use to accomplish His purposes if….
• if we pray for him
• if the voice of the Church resounds in the heavenly places in favor of the country and its leaders
• if God's people embrace God's passion to see the nation and all its inhabitants come to know Christ, and work toward that end
• if the people of God decide to support projects favorable to the Gospel, and boldly fight anti-biblical projects not in carnal vociferations but in fasting and prayer;
• if God's people decide to bless instead of cursing
if…….
Indeed, we must resist the temptation to curse the country and its new authorities. Some, disappointed, are already predicting the death of France, but I predict the rebirth of France, not because this or that party has won, but because God will win. Psalm 146, verses three to five tell us this well: “Do not trust in princes, or in the sons of men, who cannot save. Their breath departs, they return to the earth, and their plans perish in that same day. Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” Yes, the prosperity of France will not be the work of one man or one party, far from it; but the work of the One who ‘rules over human royalty’. Let us use the vote that always wins, prayer.
Shalom
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Do not trust in princes, in the sons of men, who cannot save. Their breath departs, they return to the earth, and their plans perish in that very day. Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God! He made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them. He keeps faithfulness forever. He executes justice for the oppressed; he gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the captives free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord preserves the strangers; he upholds the fatherless and the widow, but he turns the way of the wicked upside down. The Lord reigns forever; your God, O Zion! endure from generation to generation! Praise the Lord! (Psa 146:1-10)
