A Prayer for the South Carolina Senate Seat

O Lord God of heaven and earth,
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
Father of lights, from whom every good and perfect gift descends:

We come before Thee in humility at a solemn hour for the people of South Carolina and for the people of the United States. Senator Lindsey Graham has completed his earthly course, and the people must now choose another to occupy an office carrying grave constitutional, moral, military, judicial, and national responsibilities.

Thou alone art the fountain of wisdom. Wisdom does not arise merely from education, political experience, popularity, wealth, eloquence, endorsements, family name, professional distinction, or the applause of multitudes. The Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.¹ Therefore, grant wisdom to every voter who seeks Thee sincerely.

Deliver us from choosing by anger, fear, vanity, vitriol, faction, prejudice, sentimentality, sorrow, manipulation, or blind party allegiance. Deliver us from mistaking forcefulness for courage, celebrity for competence, cleverness for wisdom, ambition for calling, or religious language for righteousness.

Teach us to examine every candidate truthfully.

Where there is experience, reveal whether it has produced wisdom or merely an attachment to power.

Where there is inexperience, reveal whether there is teachability and sound judgment or dangerous unpreparedness.

Where there are endorsements, enable us to weigh them properly, considering their motivation and rationale, without surrendering conscience.

Where there are family connections and inherited political legacies, help us neither to honor them blindly nor to reject them unfairly.

Where there are physicians, attorneys, business leaders, legislators, governors, and public advocates, help us to distinguish professional accomplishment from fitness for senatorial office.

Thou seest not as man seeth; for “man looketh on the outward appearance, but Thou lookest on the heart.”² Search the hearts of those who seek this seat. Expose concealed corruption, pride, dishonesty, cowardice, instability, selfish ambition, or callousness toward the people. Bring to light every material truth that voters need to know.

At the same time, preserve us from false accusations, malicious rumors, distorted quotations, partisan slander, and judgment based upon incomplete evidence. Let truth prevail over propaganda, verity over posturing, and evidence over insinuation.

Grant us a Senator who understands that public office is a trust and not a personal possession. Give us a true fiduciary to be our Senator.

Grant us one who will defend the Constitution of the United States; respect the lawful powers of the several States; uphold due process and equal protection; protect freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion; defend the innocent; honor lawful authority; exercise a vigorous foreign policy to protect our security; and resist every unconstitutional direction, regardless of from whom or from what it proceeds.

Give South Carolina a Senator who will judge Thy people with righteousness and with justice.³ May that person remember rural communities as well as cities, laborers as well as employers, veterans as well as civilians, children as well as adults, the disabled as well as the powerful, and citizens burdened by inflation as well as institutions enriched by federal expenditure.

Grant wisdom concerning war and peace.

Give our next Senator courage to defend the nation, discernment to recognize genuine threats, faithfulness toward allies, vigilance concerning hostile powers, and restraint against unnecessary bloodshed. Let neither reckless intervention nor careless isolation expose us to destruction.

Grant wisdom concerning Israel and the peace of Jerusalem; concerning Iran and nuclear proliferation; concerning China, Russia, Ukraine, terrorism, cyberwarfare, artificial intelligence, and the security of American service members.

Grant wisdom concerning the unborn, mothers in danger, children exposed to violence, families struggling to obtain medical care, and physicians burdened by difficult moral and legal duties. Let no human life be reduced to a slogan, a political instrument, a demographic category, or a campaign advertisement.

Grant wisdom concerning firearms and public safety, honoring the Second Amendment, that constitutional liberty may be preserved and innocent life protected.

Grant wisdom concerning the border, immigration, citizenship, human trafficking, the cartel slave trade, narco-terrorism, and the rule of law. Let compassion never become lawlessness, and let enforcement never become cruelty. Grant protection to every American with respect to law, justice, and right reason.

Grant wisdom concerning taxation, federal debt, wasteful spending, entitlement fraud, trade, energy, agriculture, ports, roads, bridges, military installations, coastal communities, national defense, and the livelihoods of the people of South Carolina.

Give the chosen Senator the humility to listen, the strength to stand alone when necessary, the patience to deliberate, the discipline to master difficult facts, and the courage to admit error.

Let that Senator do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Thee.⁴

We pray also for Dr. Annie Andrews and for each Democratic, Libertarian, Constitution Party, Taxpayers, independent, and other party candidate. Protect them and their families from hatred and violence. Require truthfulness from them. Correct them where they are wrong. Strengthen whatever is honorable in them. Prevent any of them from obtaining office through open deception, voter fraud, vile corruption, unlawful interference, illegal voters, or the manipulation of the electorate.

Bless those administering early voting on August 5, 6, and 7; the special Republican primary on August 11; any necessary runoff; and the general election on November 3. Guard ballots, voting systems, poll workers, observers, records, and the lawful counting and certification of every vote.

May every eligible citizen exercise the franchise conscientiously, not as a weapon of hatred, but as a solemn stewardship under God.

Where we are ignorant, instruct us.

Where we are deceived, awaken us.

Where we are partisan beyond reason, correct us.

Where we are fearful, steady us.

Where we are proud, humble us.

Where the right choice is not immediately apparent, grant patience, investigation, discernment, wisdom, and peace.

Finally, O Lord, do not merely give South Carolina the leader whom we desire, as Thou didst to Israel when Thou gavest them Saul (1 Samuel 8). Give us a David. In Thy mercy, give us the leader who will best serve justice, constitutional government, public peace, national security, and the welfare and safety of generations yet unborn.

Let righteousness exalt our State and our nation. Let truth be established in the gates. Let the person elected remember always that earthly authority is temporary, and that every ruler and every voter must finally give account before the Judge of all the earth.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Ruler of All Nations,
Amen.