When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.  (ESV)

Can you relate to Nehemiah here? Looking around at sometimes literal ruins, remnants from a storm or other catastrophic event, maybe you’ve thought, “It’s not supposed to be like this.” Nehemiah is living this moment at the beginning of the book bearing his name. A remnant of his people has survived exile and are now moving back to their rightful home. However, it is in shambles, and Nehemiah takes a moment to grieve over the state of it all.  

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Nehemiah pours out his heart to God over the broken state of the nation he loves. In addition to praying, he fasts. Sometimes it is hard for us to connect fasting from food and focusing our hearts on God, but I love this section of the book, The Party Crasher. Joshua Butler reminds us that we can fast from more than just food. His story of opposite leaning church members comparing their newsfeeds to discover they were being fed entirely different stories based on their leanings only confirmed that they were a product of the media’s influence. He states that church members were challenged to fast social media leading up to the election.  

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You may ask, “Why would mourning, fasting or praying make any difference when it comes to our election cycles?” It is true, most people have made up their minds; therefore, not many are open to hearing anyone talk who isn’t speaking from the angle they want to hear. The more religiously we follow our party, the more offensive we find it to even hear an opposing point of view. So, what does fasting or praying do?  

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What if it’s not about changing others’ minds, but changing your heart?

A pastor I love once publicly shared his distaste for bumper stickers. He stated, “Nobody’s mind has ever been changed by a bumper sticker.” While he believes sharing the truth is a good thing, bumper stickers share the truth without love. Therefore, the message would only serve to stir up emotions in those who disagree. Perhaps, they even do more harm than good. I believe this to be true of social media, as well.  

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I know, in recent years, I have looked around our nation with all the conflict, tension, hatred, and simply said, “LORD…” and then sat in silence because I just had no other words. Have you been there? Just broken over the state of things and how we got here? I believe God is also grieved by the state of our nation in probably more ways than we even know; but I also think being speechless and crying out to God without words might just be where we SHOULD be at this point in our collective history.  

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Nehemiah poured out his heart to God, mourned, fasted, and prayed – ALL of which, I think, are appropriate for us as well. Silence is beneficial to keep us from engaging in unfruitful arguments, and silence in prayer aligns our will with the Father’s, but fasting allows for intentionality and focus. This isn’t some passing prayer that’s over at the first interruption of the day. We purposefully give up something for a period with the intention to focus on a conversation with God.  

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As we walk through post-election day chaos, I might suggest fasting from social media, your favorite news source, that rant by your favorite host, ALL of it. Align your heart with God. Ask him to help you see your nation through his eyes and to give you wisdom and love as you reengage. This is my plan. Aligning our hearts to God’s and letting our hearts break over what breaks God’s heart demonstrates our nearness to the Father. He loves it when we start to see others and the state of our nation through his eyes.  

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I leave you with the third verse of the hymn “My Father’s World,” which seems especially appropriate:

“This is my Father’s world:

O let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong,  

God is the Ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world:

Why should my heart be sad?

The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!

God reigns; let earth be glad!

Father, we thank you that you are in control. We even thank you that we are not in control. We pray for your wisdom and love to pour out of us when we are called to engage in discourse. Help us to show your heart to this lost world. Lord, when we do not need to engage, help us to pull back from the noise and sit in your presence, that we may focus on you and the reality of you as King in our lives. Thank you for your love. Amen.