Prayer, Fasting, and the Upcoming Election
by Lachlan Warrel
At my first All-Campus Worship, the message was on on John 17, where Jesus prays for us specifically in saying “I do not ask for these [those who were with him during his ministry on earth] only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word [us], that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (ESV)
Last Monday, during CIFC’s eboard meeting, we prayed about “the call” (discussed below), and a member of CIFC from Encounter messaged saying God brought up this verse during prayer, one that former President Lincoln called on in time of crisis regarding the Civil War, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” (Matt. 12:25, ESV) Time and time again God has emphasized, in scripture and in prayer, that he wants to unify The Church, and that he longs to see the lost saved.
Just yesterday, I was listening to the Magnify by Eddie James, and at the start of the album, there is a message about how the enemy is happy to distract the Church by causing it to fight over secondary issues and to forsake unity, because he knows the power of when we are one and he fears it.
If we want to see the Kingdom of God come in greater measure in this world, in this nation, in this city, in our school, then we must be known by our love for one another even during this election season (Jn 13:35). The question, then, is whether we will stand together in unity, knowing that our struggle is not against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12), and so we cannot expect to win the fight we are in--for Jesus to be King at NYU--by worldly means.
It is for this reason that a few weeks ago in prayer I felt God put clearly on my heart to ask all the Christian community at NYU to join in a fast the first three days of November. Whoever is elected, whether we officially know or not the day after election day, may we be more one as the body of Christ at NYU when we break fast than we began; though we may not be uniform in whom we vote for, we must be unified in our allegiance to Christ.
In time of political crisis, Esther called the Jewish people to unify in fasting and prayer and the whole nation of Israel was saved from complete genocide. How was this accomplished? This shift did not occur from a mere political strategy, it occurred from victory in the spiritual realm. Collective fasting and prayer, the humility it brings us into, has a spiritual power that Jesus himself spoke to, and is recorded continually throughout God’s word.
History has seemed to abruptly change course following fasts throughout the Bible. Take the book of Jonah; if we truly desire to see Christ have his way in our nation, we must seek an authority above even our president. I am a social work major and by no means want to downplay the important issues discussed in this election, but I say this all rather for us not to lose sight of the higher purpose God has called us to in our precious Lord Christ.
As far as the type of fast, I recommend asking God what he is calling you to, and in particular I recommend using this reference, among others, on fasting
The first day, Sunday, we will focus our prayer on unity in the body of Christ (Eph. 4:1-16).
The second day, we will focus our prayer on salvation in our nation (2 Chron. 7:11-14).
And the day of the election, let’s pray for all of the candidates (1 Tim. 2:1-4).
Feel free to contact me (law549@nyu.edu) or All-Campus Prayer leader Kaitlyn Yiu (ksy230@nyu.edu) with any questions about fasting. As always, I would encourage us all to pray together during this time also. Click here to join All-Campus Prayer 8am and noonday (every M-F):
Expectant for God to move in power as we seek Him together,
Lachlan Warrell