The filibuster is a political maneuver, “a delaying tactic used in the United States Senate to block a bill, amendment, resolution, or other measure being considered by preventing it from coming to a final vote on passage. Filibusters can happen only in the Senate since the chamber’s rules of debate place very few limits on Senators’ rights and opportunities in the legislative process. Specifically, once a Senator has been recognized by the presiding officer to speak on the floor, that Senator is allowed to speak for as long as he or she wishes.”1
Senator Strom Thurmond (D-South Carolina) holds the record for filibustering. At 8:54 p.m. on this day in 1957, Thurmond began a 24 hour and 18 minute speech, attempting to persuade the Senate to vote against the Civil Rights Bill of 1957 that was being proposed. Ending at 9:12 p.m. the following day, the speech began with “a reading of the election laws of each of the 48 states, and continued with readings from U.S. Supreme Court rulings, Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville, and George Washington’s Farewell Address.2
Thurmond’s efforts were a complete failure. The bill passed the 85th Congress and was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhour on September 9th, 1957.
Though it wasn’t technically a filibuster because it failed to meet the definition, Senator Corey Booker (D-New Jersey) gave a speech on March 31, 2025 that lasted 25 hours and five minutes. Had Thurmond’s filibuster been effective and assuming nothing else happened between 1957 to 2025, Booker wouldn’t have been a senator, nor would he have been able to filibuster. It was this fact that helped push Booker to beat Thurmond’s speech time. What was Booker’s long-winded speech about? He was opposed to President Trump’s second presidency and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The Apostle Paul had no desire to be a politician, but he could have held his own with the best filibusters! Acts 20:7 says, “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”
Nehemiah records another time where the sermon went long. Nehemiah 8:3 says, “And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.” Then, in Nehemiah 9:3, we read, “And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.”
Several other times, the Scriptures record marathon sessions of God’s people preaching or reading the Word. Unlike the political filibuster, these servants of the Lord had something of value to say.
How attentive are we to the Word? Do we think that the preacher is filibustering, believing that since he has the pulpit, he can just rant about anything of his choosing and the people are stuck having to listen? Or do we listen with an ear to hear, believing that the Word of God and its instructions are something we need?
I can assure you that this preacher has never tried to filibuster. And I’ve always tried to present God’s Word in such a way that it was understandable and relatable. I didn’t say that I accomplished it – only that I’ve tried.
Like the saints in Berea, we need to be those who “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)
1https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-filibuster-3322288
2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_Thurmond_filibuster_of_the_Civil_Rights_Act_of_1957
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