Don't Pray For This Nation

Sitting in the car with my dad, he asked me if I believe in prophecy. As a Christian, I have to believe in God sending us messages through people who are gifted with that ability. My dad told me the words that his pastor spoke in church that day: "This nation is headed for tough times." I almost cried when he told me that.

Tuesday, November 8th was the day that my cynicism reached new heights. I watched the map of the country turn red and I prayed for a miracle. Tears streamed down my face as I yelled out to God, "You can't do this to me, to us. You have to love us more than this."

And I'm still angry. I'm still scared. I still can't think about the reality that I may face because of that day because I know what it means. What it truly means.

The day before and the day of, my mother prayed for this country and it's government. She prayed for the election. As my dad looked through the windshield, he told me plain and simple that God had told my mother to stop praying for this nation. He would deal with it.

I can't tell you how infuriating that was to hear.

My parents came to this country for a better life. My dad crossed that border time and time again to work and to pave the way for my future. They sacrificed everything they knew and not being able to go home for 20 years because of me. And this is what they get. This is the story of our blood that has crossed the border and this is what we get. Bigotry and hate and a president-elect that demeans our existence. The worst part is that people voted for him.

The words that God spoke to my mom were the same ones that he has told me for a long time. Don't put your faith in this government. Can't you see that it went to shit a long time ago? Maybe God didn't say a "bad word," but if you couldn't tell, I'm still angry.

Do you understand what it must have felt like to hear your God tell you to stop praying for the country whose hands you placed your life into?

Don't waste your time praying for the United States of America as it stands. Our government is flawed, it's always has been. But now it's screwed, utterly and perpetually. Tough times are coming, but don't pray for our government.

Pray for the people living in this God-forsaken country. Pray for the Muslim, the immigrant, the person of color, the member of the LGBTQ+ community, the differently abled and for all the people that love them. Most of all, pray for the people that voted for Donald Trump so that they may see and feel the pain of the neighbors that our God commanded us to love.

America deserves Donald Trump. I knew that as the electoral votes rose. I didn't get my miracle, but it's not about that anymore. This nation is about to go through some hard times, so for the sake of all that is still good, pray for the people who have to live in this country because we are the only ones that can make a difference. Pray for the Church in America because we haven't been doing a great job of showing love and compassion. Pray for a miracle.