As the US approaches Election Day, Hallow, the #1 prayer app, has launched a campaign to pray for a peaceful election season. Titled “One Nation Under God,” the challenge is calling on Americans to join in prayer for national unity from November 4 to 8, with prayer resources extending beyond the election.
In an email with Aleteia, a Hallow representative explained that the idea arose from seeing the election season as a particularly “stressful and anxiety-filled” time. Hallow has launched the “One Nation Under God” prayer challenge with the sincere hope that the US can “experience God’s peace during this time when it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.”
They write on the Challenge page:
“It doesn’t matter if you’re running for office, simply paying attention to an election, or trying to avoid getting swept up in the sea of election chaos. It’s all too common to find election season to be a challenging one.” Hallow explained. “Luckily, in moments when we feel overwhelmed, we can turn to God for peace. And in moments when our country feels divided, we can unite in prayer.”
The “One Nation Under God” prayer challenge provides a number of resources to keep people praying throughout the election season, starting with scriptural passages. The content eschews political leanings, to stress that it does not matter which side wins the White House, as “God is ultimately the King.” Other verses urge participants to trust in God and to unite across the aisle in prayer.
Hallow Co-Founder and CEO Alex Jones said of the challenge:
“We should engage in politics – it’s an important civic duty to vote. But so often, we forget to pray, and we forget to put prayer first. We are citizens of the United States certainly, and we should engage in our country, but we are citizens first of the Kingdom of God. For us, it’s about taking that seriously. We know we should pray for the election and pray for our country, but how do we take that seriously? How do we put God first?”
Alongside the Bible verses, Hallow has organized a variety of prayers, including original ones written by the Hallow team, and the official prayer for before an election from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Hallow also provides prayers for after the election that focus on unity in the months leading up to the inauguration.
In line with the theme of the United States, Hallow has also listed an assortment of prayers and reflections on elections from former US presidents. Jones said:
“There’s a beautiful quote we included in the challenge from Abraham Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War. He said: ‘It is the duty of nations to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.’ But we have forgotten God… It’s about trying to get back to how the country was founded and what God wants, which is to put Him first, let Him transform our hearts…”
There are currently more than 81,000 people who have registered to participate in the “One Nation Under God” prayer challenge. Visit Hallow to learn more and sign up to pray for a peaceful election season today.
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