Today, this voting day 2020, I want to remind you of the permission you already have, Beloved.

To cry out.

To plead.

To shout, “THIS IS NOT FAIR OR RIGHT!”

To ask for God’s deliverance.

You may have heard it said that no matter who wins, God is on the throne.

This is a trustworthy saying.

It’s just not the whole story.

God is on the throne, and he is called the Lord of Hosts because he is a very present help in times of trouble for those who call on him.

God is on the throne, and he hates unjust scales, the abuse of widows, orphans, and foreigners.

God is on the throne, and he relents. Ask Abraham. Hezekiah. Jehoshaphat. Hannah. Esther.

God is on the throne, and God cares so much about you that he is moved with compassion.

Moved to seek the welfare of the first people even as they blamed him for their actions.

Moved to protect Cain—Cain!—simply because he asked for mercy.

Moved to answer his children as they cried out in their Egyptian bondage.

Moved whenever his children said, “forgive and save us” over and over again in the book of Judges.

Moved to prophesy and warn through prophets because he wanted better for his children than they wanted for themselves.

So moved that the Father sent the Son to dwell with us, offering peace and good will to all, starting with a lowly young woman from a forgotten town, spreading to shepherd outcasts, zealots, tax collectors, adulterers, the sick, broke, and even the dead.

The folks Jesus healed? Most of them cried out to him for help.

Who he praised? The scandalously inquisitive; the people who society told to shut up; the people who, like the persistent widow of his parable, would not stop asking God to be who he says he is and bring vindication, protection, healing.

Always pray. Don’t give up, Jesus said in Luke 18.

God can take your petitions of anger, anxiety, doubt, and fear. God isn’t fragile.

God is not telling you to shut up because he sits on the throne; he’s inviting your voice into the throne room.

God wants you to talk to him with boldness.

Praying and asking God to act is just as much a form of faith as believing in his sovereignty.