There are many conditional promises in the Bible. God will do this if we do that. God will relent if we repent. God will answer if we pray.
Perhaps the most famous example of this in the Scriptures is in 2 Chronicles 7:14, spoken by the Lord to King Solomon after the building of the first temple in Jerusalem.
Starting in v. 13 for context, it reads, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Now, we cannot make a direct application of this verse to the USA, since America is not chosen in the sense that Israel was chosen, and God does not call our entire nation “My people.”
Yet, since there are tens of millions of His people in America, to the extent we humble ourselves and repent and pray, I believe that God will answer from heaven and have mercy on our nation.
How, then, does this apply to the outcome of the elections? And, when all is said and done and the votes are fully counted, can we say, “The will of God has been done”?
I believe the answer is yes, we can say, “God’s will was done,” regardless of the outcome.
I say that because for much of this year, there has been a steady stream of prayer ascending to heaven.
The impeachment hearings drove us to prayer.
The pandemic drove us to prayer.
The protests and riots drove us to prayer.
The elections drove us to prayer.
Even now, as I write on the evening of November 2, 24/7 prayer vigils are taking place around the world – and I mean prayer vigils for America.
Millions have been crying out for mercy, for God’s intervention, for His will to be carried out in our land.
On September 26 alone, there were two massive gatherings in D.C., Franklin Graham’s Prayer March and The Return.
Another large gathering took place on October 25, also in D.C., which focused on worship and prayer, including a special prayer meeting outside the Supreme Court.
Pastors and leaders who never prayed together have been gathering for regular online prayer meetings focused on repentance and abasement and the seeking of mercy.
Churches that have gathered together despite the pandemic have devoted time in their meetings for prayer.
Another major event in D.C. culminated immediately before I started to write this article, with seasoned participants saying that they have never seen such a prayer emphasis in their lives.
That’s why I truly believe that whatever the outcome of the elections we will be able to say, “The will of God was done.”
I know that there are some who believe that, when it comes to the leader of a nation, the will of God is always done. In other words, they believe that God sets up one leader and brings down another. And, despite the fact that we get to vote for our presidents here, they still say, “The president is the one whom God appointed to be president.”
But when Trump was elected in 2016, against all odds and with so many prophetic words saying it would happen, I wrote an article titled, “Donald Trump, President of the United States by the Sovereign Intervention of God.”
It seemed to be a clear example of God’s sovereign hand. Outside of His working, I could not see this happening.
This doesn’t mean that there was only one divine purpose involved. As David G. noted on Twitter, in his view, the Lord’s raising up of Trump has been “a mercy, a judgment, and a test.”
I concur with this, recognizing multiple divine purposes in the Trump presidency.
When it comes to the outcome of the 2020 elections, with the amount of prayer and fasting that has taken place, whoever the winner is, I will be convinced that God’s will was done.
That being said, it’s possible that His answer will be the opposite of what we wanted in the short term, only to lead to greater good in the long term.
To be sure, it is possible that He will answer with great mercy, giving us time to mend our ways while our liberties remain protected.
But it’s also possible that He will answer with judgment, something to humble us and drive us to an even deeper place of contrition. Have we really gotten to the place called for in Joel 2, where we rend our hearts, where we weep and wail, where we grieve deeply over our corporate and personal sins? Could it be that, with an outcome that is to our liking, we will return to our complacent state?
Only God knows the answers to these questions. But I truly believe that He has heard our prayers for intervention and that His purposes will come to pass.
Should Trump be reelected, I will focus my energy on calling for ongoing prayer, repentance, and obedience, leading to revival in the church and awakening in the nation.
Should Biden be elected, I will focus my energy on calling for ongoing prayer, repentance, and obedience, leading to revival in the church and awakening in the nation.
Either way, I will not point to a biased media or to voter fraud or to low (evangelical?) voter turnout as deciding factors in the election.
I will point to the one who sits enthroned in heaven. He is the King, after all.