Aliens in America: 40 Days of Refinement Through Political Fire

Author: Andrew Comiskey
September 09, 2024

Election years remind me that ‘the Kingdom of God will not arrive on Air Force One’ (Chuck Colson, never timelier.) I take heart in my alien status. Trump’s toxicity is nothing new to this pilgrim, but the vacuous triumphalism of Kamala? Wow. Thank You, King Jesus, and Your Kingdom, now and to come.  

Happy to be a Christian but unclear how to be one in this election. Red and blue idiocy blur into a purple haze that invites me to revisit foundations. Would you join me? We will walk through 40 days of prayer and fasting, enlisting St. Peter’s first letter to ‘chosen sojourners’ (1 Pet. 1:1) as a guide.

Aliens. People living in a strange land. We need a certain detachment from the political noise as to stoke passion for King Jesus and Kingdom advancing through a pilgrim people. That means revealing Jesus in how we regard each candidate and how we treat each other, especially when our fellows bellow opinions loudly and, in our estimation, badly.

The rub? Though our primary citizenship may be heavenly, we live on earth for the purpose of making Him known. That includes our vote. We can’t pretend we are above it all or agree with the world that we are beneath it all, besides the point. I want our point to matter!

But that’s tougher than it seems in the compromised, complicated world of politics. We each prioritize the ‘issues’ that matter most to us and try to find the candidate most aligned with our concerns.

If you are sure that you have found the way in your party or candidate, never mind. This 40-day cycle of prayer, Christian devotion, and limited insight isn’t for you. But if you want to wrestle with God and man as to become responsible aliens in America during this election, then let’s go!

We will start Monday, October 14th, and run through Friday, November 22nd. (Election Day is the 5th of November.) Sign up here. Each day, you will receive encouragement and prayer for the peaceful decency of the leadership transition at hand.

‘Jesus, You are the King and we are first citizens of Your Kingdom. Would you free us for You in this election season, not to hide but to shine? You’ve always asked nothing less from Your elect whom You have made ‘strangers in a strange land’ (Ex. 2:22). Here we are, a people who don’t know what to do but who look and listen to our King. 

“Father of all holiness,
guide our hearts to You.
Keep in the light of Your Truth
all those You have freed from the darkness of unbelief.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son.”’
Amen

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