Capital Prayer Alert -- 8/19/24

As you know, my wife, Carol, prepares a monthly prayer alert. I hope you will share Carol's thoughts with your friends and fellow worshipers. Thank you for taking an interest in her monthly devotion. -- Gary

Just over a month ago, my post Trump-Biden debate Prayer Alert focused on the crises in which the country found itself. We were barreling ahead with an unmasked president adamantly declaring his fitness for office and intention to run for a second four-year term. This was from a mentally feeble and weak president who had been unmasked for citizens, allies, and enemies alike to see.

Mere weeks later, we find ourselves at a very different juncture. Seeing the election trend lines, Democrat Party elders put the screws on President Biden both privately and publicly. It was a sight to behold. There was persuasion followed by threats. The clock ticked. Eventually, Joe relented and announced he would not run for reelection. Shortly after, he endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris. There was a wisp of time when talking heads pledged that this would not be a coronation and that she would have to earn the votes of Democrat delegates.

The Democrat Party power brokers went into high gear. The “no real alternative” story line immediately surfaced and prevailed because making her the standard bearer assured that the Biden-Harris campaign funds could be transferred to her presidential effort. In the blink of an eye, the incumbent president had been pushed out, the sitting vice president took over as the party’s standard bearer, and the new nominee was someone the 14 million Democrat primary voters never voted for.

Call it a coup, or undemocratic, or backroom politics unmasked. Whatever it was, it left the American public with political whiplash! And what was barely discussed was the role Harris and other Democrat leaders had in propping up a hobbled president for who knows how long. And this from the party that claims to be “saving democracy.”

Oh, there’s one more dramatic event in the ensuing weeks. Hours after my last Prayer Alert went out, there was a nearly successful assassination attempt on former President Trump followed by a very successful Republican National Convention. The efforts of the media to suppress the Trump story have been breathtaking. They have been too busy building up Kamala Harris from a very unsuccessful Border Czar and vice president to the new, fresh face of the Democrat Party, whose previously ultra-liberal stances are being airbrushed from the public memory. Presto! We have a new candidate with an extreme makeover and an entirely new presidential contest.

And so here we are, in the week of the Democrat National Convention. Tonight, Joe Biden will get his nod and good-byes from the party that betrayed him. And then the party will quickly move on to set the stage for the “new and improved” Kamala Harris 2.0.

This political landscape feels unsettled with all that has already happened, plus a major party convention sure to expose huge internal fault lines on the issue of the US-Israel relationship. The Trump campaign has had to recalibrate its strategy, and the clock is ticking with less than three months before Election Day. Early voting starts soon in some states. No doubt there will be many more surprises ahead with the full-blown campaigns, two presidential debates, and one vice presidential debate that will generate widespread attention. Buckle up, pray, and get involved!

Heavenly Father, You are the calm in the storm all around us. Remind us that while our nation’s circumstances and our personal lives can face daunting challenges, You are the rock on which we can rest. Remind us daily that You walk alongside us and offer comfort and respite from the swirling uncertain circumstances around us. Help us, Lord, to not feel helpless and alone. You are a steady presence in our lives, and let us never forget that.

At the same time, prompt us to do our part in this tumultuous election season. You have placed us in a country whose past is rooted in religious freedom and freedom of speech. Guide us so that we do not take these precious gifts for granted. Illuminate ways for each of us to give voice to the gift of being able to worship You. Shine a light of opportunity in our personal lives, in our friendships, and in our faith lives to point out to others the tremendous stakes for the future of our children and grandchildren.

Lord, be with us. Amen.