As we near a critical election, now is the time for the church to act—through prayer, fasting, and repentance.
By Erina Kim-Eubanks
T
his year has been a challenging year for all of us. Many of us are feeling the ever-growing weight of grief upon grief, struggle upon struggle. A global pandemic. Economic crisis. Millions at risk of eviction. COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons. Mass deportations and forced sterilizations. Police killings, lynchings, racial uprisings, and national strife. Our education system is struggling. Widespread wildfires, hurricanes, and environmental devastation. Now, even the President and many of his staff are infected with COVID.
As we move toward election day on November 3, 2020, there is much to pray for and much to prepare for. There is clearly much at stake through this election, ranging from who our President is, to seats in the Senate and House, future Supreme and lower court judge appointments, district attorneys, state propositions, local leaders, and more. The future of our democracy and how our nation continues to address its many challenges, both in posture and in policy, will be shaped by these elections.
Yet, regardless of the outcome, the body of Christ needs to be ready to continue being faithful witnesses in the face of Empire. We need the strength of character and resolve to emerge as both the pastoral and the prophetic presence that our communities need. So we must pray and, if possible, fast.
Prayer is not a passive act. It is not a way to abdicate our responsibility as human beings or a way to avoid the suffering around us. Instead, prayer fuels our resistance. Prayer pushes us to take a true and honest look--at ourselves, our communities, our nation, and our world--and leads us to grief and confession. To declare that things are not okay. To cry out for help and intervention. To pursue a renewed imagination. And it leads us to partner with God, in bringing forth the justice, righteousness, and flourishing that God intended.
Similarly, fasting is not merely an exercise of abstinence. By fasting, we actively remove sources of distraction. We confront our attachments and cravings while choosing self-denial, thereby clearing room in our hearts, minds, and bodies to turn to Jesus, who alone can satisfy.
Yet fasting is also an exercise of engagement. It is connected with the activity of lament, repentance, mourning. It is a physical embodiment of our spiritual hunger, manifestations of our hope for God’s reign to come here on earth, as it is in heaven. Thus fasting is not just a practice of restraint, but also a practice of engaging and embodying our hunger for God more deeply.
In this season leading up to the election, I am inviting the church to pray and fast not just for a particular outcome to the election, but also for deeper healing and repentance in us and the broader church, that we might turn from evil and more faithfully live out the call of God. Through fasting and prayer, I hope we will see our own sickness more clearly so that we might actually be healed.
If you would like to join me in fasting, you can read a longer fasting guide I have prepared, which includes considerations and reflections to engage with before beginning your fast, as well as suggestions for how to fast.
I’ve also created a prayer guide to provide structure to your time before God. I propose a general prayer focus for each day of the week, based on areas of personal conviction. I recognize that the seven areas I have focused on are not comprehensive, so feel free to adapt based on what you feel most passionate about.
Below is an excerpt from the prayer guide. Please refer to my comprehensive prayer guide for additional Scripture, prayers, prayer points, and resources.
May God bless you in this season, and thank you for joining me and others in this concerted time of prayer and fasting.
SUNDAY: PRAYERS FOR THE CHURCH
Scripture of the Day: Jeremiah 7:3-7
Suggested Prayer Points:
Prayers of lament and repentance for the ways the church has been complicit in many of the original sins of our country, that the church would turn from its idols and become an instrument of peace, justice, and righteousness
Prayers for the expansion of kinship and hospitality in the church, that we would be a community of welcome for all (including BIPOC, queer folks, disabled folks, formerly incarcerated, the unsheltered, migrants, and those historically excluded)
Prayers for churches to know how to faithfully engage our political realities
Prayer of the Day: “For Healing in Christ’s Body”
Jesus, you are the head of the body, your church. And your body is sick. We are plagued by the love of power, money, and influence. We are weakened by toxic theologies that harm us, distort your image, and taint your name. We are scarred by division, violence, and anxiety. We have forgotten how to live. We have failed to walk in your Way.
Heal us, oh, God! Breathe on us anew, Holy Spirit! Pour out your life-giving power on us, that your body might be revived. Grant us the grace we need to live as the people you’ve called us to be, and the church our world desperately needs. Amen.
MONDAY: PRAYERS FOR THE END OF WHITE SUPREMACY
Scripture of the Day: Habakkuk 1:2-4
Suggested Prayer Points:
Prayers for healing from generational racial violence/trauma that BIPOC siblings face, that God might be near and remind them of their divine image-bearing
Prayers for all those who perpetuate violent ideologies and white supremacist systems, for conviction and a transforming of hearts
Prayers for a radical transformation of our public safety system, for an end to lynchings, racist policing, and the criminalization of Black and brown bodies
Prayers for endurance, creativity, and resources for those fighting for liberation
Prayers for the church’s role as a witness to God’s liberative, reconciling power
Prayer of the Day: “For the Exorcism of White Supremacy”
Creator, you spoke us into being, breathed life into our lungs, made us divine image-bearers. You called our bodies temples—sacred and filled with your Spirit. And yet, in pursuit of profit and to prop up Empire, we have seen the demon of white supremacy possess our bodies and this land. For too long, its force has stained our streets with blood. Choked out life. Built structures of inequity. Made us live as less than human.
Exorcise the demon of white supremacy, in Jesus’ name, for it only has power through the bodies in which it resides. And as this demon is cast out from those who perpetuate its violence, may all of us experience the freedom to be, to breathe, and to live as your children. Grant us the peace that comes from knowing we belong to one another. Give us the resolve to live as your beloved community. Amen.
TUESDAY: PRAYERS FOR ELECTIONS + GOVERNMENT
Scripture of the Day: Matthew 6:9-10
Suggested Prayer Points:
Prayers for voting rights to be upheld in this upcoming election: for a removal of barriers, for every ballot to be counted, for poll workers/places to be protected, for safeguards from fraud, and for vulnerable populations to be supported
Prayers for leadership in this country, at every level, from local to national, that we would elect leaders who uphold common good, use power rightly, and care for the most marginalized in our communities
Prayers for the outcome of the election to be peaceful
Prayers for healing in our country from stark divisions, vitriol, and hatred
Prayer of the Day: “For the Yielding of our Wills”
God who reigns, as the election approaches, we desperately ask for your will to be done in our lives and in our nation. Though we are tempted toward anxiety and possessiveness, we look to you, remembering that our hope is not in one person, party, or policy. Our hope is in your liberating love and your resurrection power.
As we go to the polls, open our eyes to see all people the way you do. Open our ears to hear the cries of the vulnerable and marginalized in our communities. Open our minds to think creatively and strategically about all the issues at hand. Open our hearts to align more with your heart. Teach us what it means to be faithful stewards of our vote and to live as faithful witnesses in the face of Empire. Make us participants of your holy realm, surrendering our own need for control while yielding to your call. Amen.
WEDNESDAY: PRAYERS FOR THE PANDEMIC
Scripture of the Day: Jeremiah 17:13-15
Suggested Prayer Points:
Prayers for an end to the virus and for all to do their part in preventing its spread
Prayers for all those who are sick, and those who face the ongoing health implications of having contracted the virus
Prayers for all who are grieving the loss of loved ones
Prayers for all our frontline workers, medical workers, scientists, first responders
Prayers for all those who have experienced economic hardship through this time
Prayers for our elected officials to respond with prudence and unselfishness
Prayers for the vulnerable: the incarcerated, the elderly, people with disabilities
Prayers for all the isolated, overwhelmed, and those struggling with mental health
Prayer of the Day: “For New Breath and a New World”
God who is breath, ruach, your world is struggling to breathe. Some of us are infected by a virus that consumes our body and our breath. Others of us are caught with grief in our throats, mourning the loss of loved ones in strange times. Parents have no time to catch their breaths in the unrelenting burdens of caretaking, working, and surviving in uncertainty. Still others are laboring daily in an economy that strangles the masses to prop up the profit of billionaires.
As this pandemic exposes not just our need for a vaccine, but a need for a new world, would your Spirit breathe life in us! Heal our imaginations and show us how to fight for a world of collective care and responsibility. Help us build a world in which all of humanity can have space to breathe, access resources that heal, live with dignity, and practice self-giving love. Amen.
THURSDAY: PRAYERS FOR SELF + RELATIONSHIPS
Scripture of the Day: Hebrews 4:14-16
Suggested Prayer Points:
Prayers for your own needs, that God would be gracious to grant you what you need to keep persisting in these times
Prayers of repentance and forgiveness as you grow in greater awareness of your unhealthy compulsions and idols in this time
Prayers for the holistic health of yourself and others around you, whether that be healing for physical ailments, mental health struggles, emotional trauma, etc.
Prayers for friends and family who are facing trials or difficult circumstances
Prayer of the Day: “For Christ’s Incarnate Presence”
God of empathy and vulnerability, we thank you that you know what it means to be human. Through the incarnation, we are reminded of your unwavering presence among us, and your unfailing commitment to know the breadth of the human experience. You know what it means to feel pain, to experience loss, to face disappointment, to wrestle with doubt, to be tempted by sin, to feel angry at others. You also know what it means to have faith, cling to hope, and express self-giving love, even in the face of death.
Remind us that you always journey with us. In this time where we feel faint, weary, overwhelmed, and uncertain, show us that we are not alone. Help us to cry out for help. And teach us how to faithfully walk in your Way, a way that leads to life and liberation for all. Amen.
FRIDAY: PRAYERS FOR CREATION
Scripture of the Day: Romans 8: 22-23
Suggested Prayer Points:
Prayers of repentance for the ways that we have failed to steward Creation rightly
Prayers for all those who face loss and devastation from environmental disasters: fires, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis
Prayers for those impacted by environmental racism, and for the ongoing harms that it causes on physical, psychological, social, and emotional well being
Prayers for upcoming elections to lead to policies and practices that will provide relief to the earth and prioritize sustainability over profit
Prayer of the Day: “For the Community of Creation”
God of Creation, all you have created is sacred. The whole earth bears witness to your creativity, your beauty, and your goodness. Creation holds enough to meet everyone’s needs. Yet we have trampled your earth. We have colonized and pillaged your lands. We have dishonored you and one another by committing acts of violence and extraction. We have hoarded the earth’s resources to build storehouses and kingdoms, rather than being content with our daily bread.
Help us repent from our ways. Restore the community of creation. Move us from narratives of domination and utility to your visions of your harmony and shalom. Stir our bodies into acts of repair, even when it is costly to our comfort and bottom lines. Show us how to build a world that future generations can enjoy. Amen.
SATURDAY: PRAYERS FOR REST
Scripture of the Day: Isaiah 65:21-23
Suggested Prayer Points:
Prayers for yourself to pay attention to God’s activity as you cease your own
Prayers for a restored practice of both personal and corporate Sabbath within the church, that we would be a people who know how to stop and rest
Prayers for the vulnerable in our communities—migrants, low-wage workers, incarcerated persons, the unhoused—who face barriers to experiencing true rest
Prayer of the Day: “For True, Sabbath Rest”
God of the Sabbath, we need your rest. In a world that is restless, we feel inadequate, exhausted, and unfulfilled. We feel like we are never enough. We are constantly comparing ourselves. We can never catch up to our to-do lists. We feel responsible for everyone and everything.
Restore to us the joy of Sabbath! Free us from our captivity to capitalism, which enslaves us with an unceasing need to produce and to consume. Show us where the boundary lines fall in pleasant places. Teach us to live as fully human- not more, and not less. Grant us what we need to embrace your rest—for ourselves and for our world. Amen.
Photo by Jeremy Yap on Unsplash
Erina Kim-Eubanks is a second-generation Korean American who has worked at the intersection of faith, justice, and racial healing for over 15 years. She has provided leadership in a variety of contexts, ranging from college campuses, to prisons, to middle schools, to churches. She currently serves as the co-pastor of Bethel Community Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in San Leandro, California, where she strives to cultivate a spiritual community of resistance and renewal that is faithful to the radical Way of Jesus. You can follow her writing here.