Author: John Page 106 of 166

James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

After December’s terrorist attack in San Bernardino, the following was defiantly emblazoned on the cover of the New York Daily News … “God Isn’t Fixing This.” The accompanying article started with the thought that “prayers aren’t working” and went on to describe the futility of prayer as a solution to our nation’s problems.

The author may be partly right – our prayers haven’t been working. What he doesn’t realize, however, is that this situation says far more about us than it does about God. Our prayers can be effectual, availing much, but they must be accompanied by purity and fervency. As a nation, are we praying as should? No! Are we as repentant as we should be? No! Are we as fervent as we should be? No!

The deteriorating conditions in our nation are not the fault of a loving, all-powerful God. Instead of placing blame upward, we should place our blame inward. The situation we face is our fault, and until we focus on righteousness, humility, and fervency, we shouldn’t expect things to change.

PLEASE PRAY FOR A NATIONWIDE, HUMBLE SELF-REFLECTION ON THE ROOT CAUSE OF OUR PROBLEMS. Until we affix our eyes on God, He shouldn’t be expected to fix anything.

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that the election season is upon us without us committing to a season of prayer) set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

After describing the purpose of government, uplifting the importance of uniqueness, explaining the pitfalls of monarchy, and expounding upon the blessings of God, Thomas Paine decides that there is only one natural conclusion that compliments independence:

“But where say some is the King of America? I’ll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain. Yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America THE LAW IS KING. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other. But lest any ill use should afterwards arise, let the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony be demolished, and scattered among the people whose right it is.”

Yes, God is to be King of America with His crowned Word as the nation’s foundation. There ought to be no other. Instead, we have supplanted our rightful leader with earthly treasure. The result is national havoc stemming from the brute of our own banality. We are no longer exceptional because we have become egotistical as we have dethroned our true leader. PLEASE PRAY THAT WE WOULD RE-CORONATE AMERICA’S RIGHTFUL KING.

Exodus 3:8 “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”

In addition to addressing the purpose and form of proper government, Thomas Paine addressed some more tangible reasons why America should be independent.

Specifically, Paine marveled at the amazing natural resources God had provided North America: “In almost every article of defense we abound.” Indeed, this was a land flowing with milk and honey. Additionally, Paine highlighted the distance from Britain that demonstrates God-ordained safety and protection, provides a natural proof of a lack of unity between Britain and America, and hinders the ability of one to rule the other:

“Every thing that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, ‘TIS TIME TO PART. Even the distance at which the Almighty hath placed England and America, is a strong and natural proof, that the authority of the one, over the other, was never designed of Heaven.”

Finally, Paine remarked about the timing of our discovery as a proof of our destiny:

“The time likewise at which the continent was discovered, adds weight to the argument, and the manner in which it was peopled increases the force of it. The reformation was preceded by the discovery of America, as if the Almighty graciously meant to open a sanctuary to the persecuted in future years, when home should afford neither friendship nor safety.”

As a result, Paine’s inevitable conclusion stemming from God’s incredible endowment was that: “The authority of Great-Britain over this continent, is a form of government, which sooner or later must have an end.”

As Paine directed the colonists then, we must linger on God’s incredible blessings in our lives and on this nation today. He has blessed us tremendously, and instead of diverting our eyes from Him we should cling to His amazing power. PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO RETURN OUR GAZE TO GOD’S AMAZING POWER. His blessings were irrefutable proof that this land was pleading for separation. Similarly, His blessings should provide us irrefutable proof that we must cling to Him today.

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that we are waiting to be brought to our knees before we fall to our knees), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!

I Samuel 8:18-19 “And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us.”

Thomas Paine argues that a monarchy is sinful because it supersedes the authority of God, but is also onerous because it overreaches into the lives of men. Such is the case with a government that exceeds its underlying limited function of security and restraint against our own vices.

An overreaching governor takes our sons and appoints them for himself. He takes our daughters “to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.” He takes the best of our fields, vineyards, oliveyards, and flocks. Paine reminds the reader that “neither do the characters of the few good kings which have lived since, either sanctify the title, or blot out the sinfulness of the origin.”

Excessive government is onerous, and burdens the people more than it benefits them. Such has been the case since the monarchical foundation, and such is the case today. It prompted our forefathers to revolt, though it has once again ensnared us today by our ignorant acquiescence.

PLEASE PRAY THAT WE WOULD RETURN TO A GOVERNMENT CHARACTERIZED BY BENEFIT AND NOT BURDEN. If we refuse to obey God’s plan for government, then we must expect continued onerousness instead of opportunity.

Judges 8:23 “And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.”

Thomas Paine (see 2 prior posts) describes the desire for monarchy as “one of the sins of the Jews” because it “invades the prerogative of heaven.” After quoting Judges 8:23, Paine goes on to state:

“Words need not be more explicit; Gideon doth not decline the honor, but denieth their right to give it; neither doth he compliment them with invented declarations of his thanks, but in the positive style of a prophet charges them with disaffection to their proper Sovereign, the King of heaven.”

There is only one who should rule our affections. There is only one who should rule our thoughts. There is only one who should rule our emotions. There is only one who should rule our worldview. There is only one who should rule our society. There is only one who should rule our nation – the One, the proper Sovereign, the King of heaven!

PLEASE PRAY THAT WE WOULD RETURN THE REAL KING OF AMERICA TO HIS THRONE. Ruling over us is the prerogative of heaven, and nothing else should supersede Him.

SET YOUR ALARM: If you’re alarmed (that our nation’s prosperity is so tenuously linked to others), set your alarm (to pray for our nation)!