Monday Morning Manna: Where Was Prayer in the Debates?

I confess that I opted to watch baseball on TV last week vs. watching twenty Democratic want-a-be Presidential candidates debate the issues. I did surf the networks back and forth just to see what was going on among the hopefuls, and I did read the next-morning reviews. I start with my confession only to say I may have missed something in the four hours of debate, but I never once heard a candidate begin an answer with something like, “I would seek God’s will in the matter” or “I would talk with God about this and then make a decision” or “I think God would want me to . . .” To each question, the candidates had their own answers, and their own solutions. No one, at least to my awareness, even acknowledged God as a part of their decision making. I’m not talking about church-state issues, or religious freedom issues, or even one’s spiritual preferences, I’m talking about a candidate acknowledging the importance of communicating with God in decision making. I realize this was not a religious debate, and the questions were not spiritually oriented, but I sure wish someone on the stage would have at least referenced communication with God. This reminds me of Jesus’ words in John 16:24, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive,” and James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” This is not about Democrats or Republicans or any other group. It is about the absence of communication with God in the discussion of the current issues that concern our society.

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.