NOVEMBER’S FIRST TUESDAY
November 3, 2026
Bob and Bernice Burnside were among the four couples that joined Kathy and me back in 1982 to launch what would become Northwest Community Church. Bob was a man of deep conviction and was solidly grounded in Scripture. I would say that Bob was also, and above all else, a man of prayer.
In the fall of 1984, Bob and I were talking about the upcoming national, state, and local elections. He said something that I have never forgotten. Bob told me, “Sure, I vote. But I honestly believe I make more of an impact by praying.”
I heard those words over forty years ago and increasingly believe that they are true. Voting is good and it makes A difference; prayer is better and makes THE difference.
Obviously, the New Testament writers and readers knew very little about representative democracy. They lived under Rome’s thumb and had little say in who ruled over them.
Rome did allow some elections at local levels, but that was not the case for major rulers. The idea of “getting involved in politics” would not have occurred to the early Christians. Nor could they have imagined getting to vote for their emperor of choice.
Living in our representative democracy (or, a constitutional federal republic), our situation is quite different. In my opinion, it is a reasonable application of being “in submission to governing authorities” (Romans 13:1) that we be informed citizens and that we vote.
So, like Bob Burnside said, I vote.
But the wisdom of Bob’s counsel isn’t lost on us. God has provided us with more agency than we get with our one vote by means of prayer. When we pray in alignment with Scripture’s teachings for our governing authorities, God uses those prayers to change things and to change us.
With respect to those who rule over us, here is the Apostle Paul’s instruction:
[1 Timothy 2:1] First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, [2] for kings and all who are in authority…
By those words we understand that the second most important thing a Christian citizen can do in the days leading up to or on November 3rd is vote. The most important thing is that we pray.
And pray…what?
Before reading the last part of Paul’s instructions, I’ll point out something that I consider obvious.
We can all think of regimes in the past or at present in which we would definitely NOT like to live. We can think of governments that did not and that do not promote human flourishing and that did and do limit human freedoms. We would not like to live under those regimes.
But Paul didn’t include either of those particulars (human flourishing or human freedom) in his instruction about how and why to pray for governmental authorities.
He wrote that we should pray [1 Timothy 2:2]…that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
That was what was on Paul’s radar when he wrote to his son-in-the-faith, Timothy. He wanted Timothy to pray – and he wanted Timothy to teach other Christians to pray – that the governmental rulers over them would create a society in which they could get on with living out their calling to follow Jesus with as few impediments as possible.
Paul wants us to have the same mindset and to pray the same prayer.
Of course, Christians can shine for Jesus in any situation. In places that are oppressive, shining will be difficult. Shining while opposed may involve persecution in the form of imprisonment, lousy jobs, loss of property, beatings, or even death.
Still, we can shine. In fact, on the bright side, the darker the culture in which we live, the brighter our light will shine.
But Paul wants us to pray that the governing officials who are over us will arrange things so that we can best carry out our stewardship to live for Jesus.
So, by all means, pray and vote, vote and pray.
My final thought here is that the order in which we place these two activities matters. It matters a lot.
I’m not saying anything surprising when I observe that there is, currently, an all-pervasive fever pitch and passion in our culture about politics and governing.
That passion could make it tempting to hear what Paul writes and think, “Yes, of course we’ll pray. That is a good thing to do. BUT BY ALL MEANS VOTE!”
A better reading of the spirit of Paul’s words to Timothy and to us would by reflected by thinking, “Sure, we’ll vote. Voting is important. BUT MORE THAN THAT and ABOVE ALL ELSE, WE WILL PRAY with all fervor that we our governing authorities will enable us to shine bright for Jesus without barriers and obstacles!”
Yours…His,
Dave
