What is God Saying about the Upcoming Election?

"Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths” - (Isaiah 2:3).

Dear intercessors,
 
How is God speaking at this hour? It seems in a time of turbulence and confusion regarding the elections, we as God’s people must hear His voice. We need to be a people who have ears to hear what He is saying. He wants to instruct us at this critical hour - not about what politicians are saying for they all say different things - but what He is saying to us as a nation and as His people? When we hear from God with a heart to obey, we line up with His values of what is right and wrong. We make choices that are His choices.
 
The praying Church needs to become a Church that hears and speaks clearly the Word of the Lord. In Isaiah 2:3, we see that God is looking for a praying people. It is of utmost importance that we go up to the mountain of the Lord and hear Him. In prayer we hear God. Then we can prepare the way of the Lord and build a smooth highway for Him. It is necessary that we remove the crooked places of sin through prayer and repentance, and walk in His ways. We read in Isaiah 40:3-5:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert, A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
 
Two contrasting examples of pride and humility are found in a political leader, King Uzziah, and the prophet Isaiah. The life of Uzziah is a reminder of the necessity for national leaders to walk in humility before the Lord. It is also a reminder for us to choose Godly, humble leaders who know that God is the one who prospers a nation. We must beware of the deception of voting for charismatic personalities instead of those who have God's values. It is so easy to get lost in our culture and look to man as the savior of a nation instead of to God. Weneed to hear God’s voice and go to Jesus for truth. Isaiah was one who humbled himself before God in repentance and chose to put His trust in God and His values.

The Life of Uzziah
 
Uzziah became King of Judah when he was only 16 years old, and he ruled for 52 years from 783-742 BC. His name means “Jehovah is my strength.” He sought after God for 42 of those years, and during that time his reign was extremely prosperous (2 Chronicles 26:3-15). In the early part of his reign he was under the influence of the prophet Zechariah and was faithful to God. He fortified the country, re-equipped the army, and developed agriculture. Uzziah was a military genius. He conquered and overcame the Philistines and the Arabians. He supported the priestly ministry and flourished. In verse 15, we read that His fame spread far and wide, and he was miraculously helped by God.

Imagine being miraculously helped by God.
 
Uzziah was blessed in everything he set his heart to accomplish until he became strong. When he became strong and was filled with pride, his heart was lifted up to his own destruction. He saw himself as exalted above God’s ways when he entered the temple and made sacrifices, something that only the priests were consecrated to do. He no longer walked in God's path. He offered incense, even when valiant men withstood him and told him not to do it.

Uzziah thought he was the key figure to His nation’s success. As a result a great earthquake shook the ground and he was struck with leprosy for disobeying God. He was driven from the temple for ten years (verse 19-21). He lived in disgrace and isolation the rest of his life and was buried in a lonely grave.

Uzziah failed to see that His true source of greatness was God and that all earthly rulers must bow to the purposes of God.
 
Isaiah's Repentance

“I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings... And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!’ And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke” - (Isaiah 6:1-4).

Isaiah is widely regarded as one of the greatest prophets of the Bible. His name means“The LORD is salvation.” In Isaiah 6:1, the year when Uzziah died, Isaiah had an amazing vision of God and saw the Lord on His throne with His robe filling the temple. This made an incredible impression on his life. Isaiah was a prophet for 50 years and prophesied during the reign of King Uzziah. He was probably about 20 years old when he spoke to Uzziah. This means that he grew up knowing the fame of Uzziah. He also saw how Uzziah's heart was lifted up in pride and arrogance, leading to his own destruction.
 
Isaiah confessed that he was one among others in his generation that had looked to a human king instead of to God. This was highlighted when He saw this vision of God in His glory. In light of the life of King Uzziah and the prophet Isaiah, there are four questions we can ask ourselves that relate to our culture right now:

• Who is the source of greatness? Uzziah exalted himself in pride and arrogance and was on a slippery slope leading to destruction. We can’t observe our political candidates as the key to our success and the source of our prosperity. The source of greatness is God. He sits on the throne, high and lifted up. May we confirm that our source of greatness is in God alone.
   
• Where is our hope? When we are enamored with charismatic leaders and presidential candidates, we can forget where our true hope lies? Is it in God or man? We can be easily deceived and must beware of overlooking pride in political leaders and a heart lifted up. The Bible says blessed are the poor in spirit. Pride ends in destruction and is deadly in leaders. The outward reflects the inward. We must realize that our hope is in God and not man. Only God can help our nation.
   
• Are we committed to living righteously before God? As God’s people, we need to make a humble and obedient commitment to righteousness. Do we want a president more than a prophet, a charismatic leader to solve our problem of sin as a nation? God is holy. We must pray for God’s righteous standards in our land and vote God's values.
   
• Are we fervently praying at this critical hour? The place of prayer is the place of power. It is time to give ourselves to prayer both personally and corporately. What we need is for the Church to rise up to the high mountain of prayer and see the Lord. This is the position of strength for any nation. Our eyes must be on the King of Heaven. 

Like Isaiah in chapter 6, it’s time to humble ourselves and repent of pride, arrogance, and looking to leaders to solve the problems of America or any nation. Only God can save us. God want to deal with our hearts. We need to remove the stones of sin and make the crooked places straight and the rough places smooth. This is the answer to our nation. Like Isaiah in verse 5-6, we can repent and God forgives:
 
“'Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.’”
 
It’s time to go up to the mountain, set our hearts right before God, and be his voice at this hour. He is speaking to us and we can hear His voice every day (Isaiah 50:4). As the people of God, we can consecrate ourselves afresh to Him, and vote for righteous and godly values. We can be His voice to our family, friends, and the lost. Through our voice, we can turn people's hearts towards Him. We can prepare the way of the Lord and make a highway for our God.

“A preacher preaches a message. A voice is much more than this. A message can deliver content, but a voice comes from an anointed life that has the power to actually turn people. A message delivers information. A voice delivers people. Anyone can deliver a message, but only a consecrated life can be a voice.” Wes Martin

For those of you from other nations, apply this message personally and during times of national elections.

Together in the Harvest,
 
Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC)
deb@intercessorsarise.org
www.intercessorsarise.org