5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
… 7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
My family and I made the trek to the capitol this morning for my swearing in.
Most of the rest of the representatives are still out there, going through the long ceremony, complete with speeches, of the regular, formal, swearing in. I decided, due to Gimpy the Foot, to go out early and get sworn in privately. However you do it, taking the oath of office is always a kick. Now I am legally the representative for District 89 in the Oklahoma State Legislature for the next two years.
I always begin a 54 Day Novena at this time of year. I ask God to use me however He wishes in the upcoming legislative session and to please protect me from my own stupidity so that I won’t accidentally do something that hurts people by mistake. I also pray Solomon’s prayer when he was first anointed king.
This is a good time to remember what happened to Solomon after he prayed this prayer. God heard him and gifted him with great wisdom and prosperity. But Solomon, despite his excellent intentions at the beginning of his reign, fell into apostasy, allowing his many political marriages to women who were not of his faith to re-introduce idolatry and human sacrifice into Israel.
That same thing has happened to our own country. Many of the leaders we’ve trusted, including some of our religious leaders, have led us into blatant human sacrifice to the gods of commerce, success, and a false sense of freedom. We abort our children, euthanize our elderly or warehouse them in nursing homes. We buy and sell young women as if they were chattel. Everything is forfeit to the pursuit of our private narcissism and the almighty dollar.
I remember all this when I pray Solomon’s prayer. It is a perfect prayer for any elected official, and the sad end to which Solomon fell after praying it is also worth pondering.
The 54-day Novena involves praying the Rosary for 54 days. For the first 27 days, you pray for your intention. For the last 27 days, you thank God for answering you. I do it every year before session. It focuses and cleanses me. I also think that it has been answered, usually in surprising ways that I would not have dreamed of at the time I prayed it.
So for me this business of being sworn in is another starting point. It signifies that I am, once again, committing myself to the job of being the voice for thousands of people within Oklahoma’s state government. I don’t take this lightly. In fact, it can be rather terrifying. Which is why I always turn to the Lord for support, guidance and help.
Christians can do nothing for God without God’s help. We are not are own. We belong to Him.
Prayer is the well-spring from which our grace and strength comes to us.
This is the beginning of my 17th year in elected office. My prayer is that God will use me however He sees fit. I am His.
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