Over the last few weeks, I have come across several different messages from different sources, with the same central theme. So I believe God is trying to tell me something, and wants me to share it: we need to pray for our nation.
One does not have to look far or think very long to understand the times we’re living in: from natural disasters to public unrest to the pandemic, to the degradation of family and increase of sin of every kind. I believe it is because we, as a country, have abandoned God or turned away from God, that things are the way they are. Because our country has rejected God, God has allowed us as a country to be left to our own devices, and this is what happens. (See Romans 1:18-32)
We have removed God from so many areas of our society – schools, courthouses, just about any public place – even though America was founded as “one nation under God.” Sadly, this has been going on for years. My guitar case is covered in bumper stickers I have collected over the years, and one of them that I probably picked up 20 years ago, says this:
Dear God, why do you allow so much violence in our schools? – a concerned student / Dear Concerned student, I’m not allowed in schools. – God.
God is all-powerful, but He also gives us the free will to make choices, and will allow us to experience the consequence of our choices.
But things can turn around. We have to remember that nothing is too hard for God (Jeremiah 32:27). Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). The key is that it starts with God’s people. It can be very tempting for those who believe in God, who follow Jesus Christ, to point to people “out there” who take part in all manner of sinful acts. But God tells us in His Word:
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV) (emphasis added)
We can pray on behalf of our nation, like Daniel did (Daniel 9:4-19). We can pray for our nation, and acknowledge our own sin in the process, like Nehemiah did (Nehemiah 1:4-11). Another example is Isaiah, who was a prophet of God – who spoke God’s word to the people – yet he had to admit that he was a man of “unclean lips” before he confessed that he lived in a society of “people of unclean lips.” (Isaiah 6:5)
If we were really honest, we would have to admit that, by and large, God’s people have not been the light in the darkness that we have been called to be. Too often we sit idly by while decisions are made and policies are created without voicing our opinion or standing up for the God we love. Too often we fail to be the voice of peace, to show grace, to pray for our enemies. When fewer lights are shining, is it any wonder that the culture has become that much darker?
So, I pray that God would stir up within His church in America, starting with me, a humility and a willingness to confess and repent of our sins, individually and as a nation. May God’s people in this country be renewed in their faith. May there be a revival, a return to God, so that He will hear, forgive, and bring healing to our country. May God be glorified! Amen.
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