Congratulations on your commitment to join with thousands of others in praying for this fall's elections. The following are suggested guidelines for personal or corporate prayer times. They begin with prayers of preparation that flow from worship to thanksgiving to confession, then moving to the specific prayer points for the elections. May God bless you as you pray!

But select capable men from all the people--men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain-and appoint them as officials...
--Exodus 18:21

I. Worship: Establish God's Sovereignty and Supremacy
O, Lord, I acknowledge that You are sovereign over all you have made. You reign supreme above all powers and principalities. I worship You in your power, holiness and majesty. You lift up and bring down leaders of Your choosing, and I submit to You and Your will today. I want to cooperate with Your will as I pray for the upcoming elections.
--Psalm 47:8, Psalm 33:4, Psalm 147:5

II. Thanksgiving: Gratitude for God's Wisdom and My Freedom
Dear God, I thank You for caring for Your creation, for the nations of the world, and for our country. Thank you for the freedom from sin that You have provided through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for the freedom and liberty that I am blessed with as an American. Thank You for all who sacrificed and who are sacrificing today so I may enjoy that freedom. Thank you for the privilege of citizenship.
--John 8:36, II Corinthians 3:17, Colossians 1:13

III. Confession: Agreeing with God About Sin
Heavenly Father, I confess that I am sinful and my ways are sinful. I am stained by sin's mark, and agree with You that it is only the shed blood of Your Son, Jesus that can forgive my sin and clean me up so You can use me. Help me understand You and Your ways so I may cooperate with all You do in the world.
--Psalm 32:5, Matthew 6:12, I John 1:9

IV. Requesting: Calling on God for Help
O, God, I promised to pray for the upcoming elections, and I ask You to help me to remain faithful to that promise. Please lead me as I pray so I can honor You and show You my love every day. I bring the following concerns to You:
--Romans 12:12

Prayer Points

A. Let Your will be done in the fall 2004 elections. Let everything on earth work together to bring about Your will and purposes.
--Psalm 33:11

B. Raise up godly leaders who love You and who love righteousness. Give us elected officials at every level who can be counted on to do what is right in Your eyes, honoring you and shunning sin.
--II Samuel 23:3-4

C. Awaken our nation to the need for godly leaders. Make us a country of people hungry and thirsty for righteous leaders.
--Proverbs 25:5, Proverbs 29:2

D. Give discernment and wisdom to the electorate. Grant to our electorate the ability to see those leaders whose actions are in accord with Your values and laws.
--Proverbs 3:21

E. Spur the hearts of all Americans to invest their time, energy and interest in the fall 2004 elections. Cause them to dismiss the negative and seek Your will as they consider candidates and issues.
--Philippians 2:14-15

F. Protect our nation from harm and calamity throughout the campaigns, the conventions of both parties and Election Day. Protect the candidates, their team members and the delegates to their conventions. Foil the plans of anyone intending to bring harm or damage to them. Guard and preserve our system of government.
--Psalm 32:7

G. Guide the members of the media into wisdom and truth. Protect them from the temptation to stretch or distort the truth, to add hype or spin. Give us sources for our election-related decisions that are trustworthy and honorable.
--Proverbs 12:22

H. Build into the very fabric of our nation a sense of the privilege and responsibility of our citizenship. Grant each American of voting age an acute awareness of the value of his or her vote. Let no one feel unneeded, unnecessary or above the process of the elections. Cause unprecedented numbers to vote in this election, honoring You and doing Your will.
--Amos 6:1

I. Grant that the election officials, machinery, balloting equipment, and all persons involved in overseeing the elections will work flawlessly resulting in accurate and fair results.
--Proverbs 1:3

J. Bless the efforts of the Pray the Vote^TM initiative that great numbers of people will commit to pray and will faithfully follow through on their commitment. Bring to mind the need for prayer and spread the word about all the prayer efforts for this fall's elections.