Prayer for the Nation

             Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer for our nation.  As I considered how we should focus our prayers, several Scriptures came to mind.

“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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (II Chronicles 7: 14, NIV84).

            While that was written to the nation of Israel, the Church is now the “people called by His name” so I am confident that if we, as Christians, humble ourselves, repent of the sin and evil that we have tolerated in this land, and turn towards God, He will hear us.

            “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (I Timothy 2: 1, 2 NIV84).        

            Romans 13, tells us that God has ordained those who are in authority to provide order in the chaos.  Unfortunately, our leaders, on both sides of the aisle, often contribute more to the chaos than they do to good order.

Surprisingly, that is nothing new—the divisive nature of politics has been present since the founding of our nation.  I recently read a biography of John Adams, the 2nd President of the U.S.  I was surprised to learn that during the Revolutionary War, he and Thomas Jefferson were good friends, working side by side to win France to our side.  However, after the Constitution was adopted, they became bitterly divided in how they viewed government.  Their animosity towards each other was much like the anger and hatred that we see in government today.  The good news is that they ultimately mended their relationship.  They agreed to disagree on certain issues, but that didn’t stop them from renewing their friendship and writing numerous letters to each other almost to their dying day.  Ironically, they both died on the same day, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

My prayer for this nation is that the leaders of both parties will put aside the name-calling, anger, and calls for violence.  I pray that civility, integrity, and love of country will once more be the motives for service and that each side will begin conversations of listening and understanding.  They may still agree to disagree but hopefully, they will be moving closer to compromises that will benefit the nation.

Pray that our leaders will turn away from sin and evil and turn their hearts towards God.  Pray that they will seek His will and guidance.  Only then will the division that plagues us now be ended!  Pray that God will bless America again!

II Chronicles 7: 14

Micah 6: 8

Mark 3: 25

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