If you’ve ever raised kids, you know you can’t build a life on freedom without character. The freedom of democratic government relies on character, and integrity refers to consistency of character. As a modern democratic republic, our very survival rests on the freedom and integrity of the electoral process. Integrity happens behind the scenes, but integrity shows up in public confidence. When people suspect dishonesty, or worse, when some irregularity suggests a lack of integrity, then we lose favor. Then it doesn’t matter who wins the election, if it comes at such a price.

• Pray for absolute honesty at the polls in this election.

• Pray for integrity in our electoral process and confidence in the results.

Jesus, you are the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). Help us as a community, as a nation, to imitate your character. We don’t pretend to be perfect, but we can be consistent in our pursuit of honesty and integrity. Help us to value these character qualities, even if by them our candidate doesn’t win. Help America to regain trust in our electoral process. Help us to have confidence in the results. And help us to be people of integrity. Amen.