Author: John Page 74 of 163

II Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”

President Ronald Reagan reminded us of the following:

“It’s been written that the most sublime figure in American history was George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge.  He personified a people who knew that it was not enough to depend on their own courage and goodness, that they must also seek help from God – their Father and preserver.  Where did we begin to lose sight of that noble beginning, of our conviction that standards of right and wrong do exist and must be lived up to?  Do we really think that we can have it both ways, that God will protect us in a time of crisis even as we turn away from him in our day-to-day life?”

General Washington turned to God in time of crisis at Valley Forge because he had an established relationship with Him.  Throughout his life, he recognized that it was not enough to depend on his own courage and goodness, but that he needed help from his Father and preserver.  It wasn’t enough to ask for protection in time of crisis, but the Lord was needed in his day-to-day life to live up to the standards of right and wrong.  His sufficiency was of God and not of himself.  That one picture of Washington praying personifies this important truth.

We must not wait for a crisis to pray, but instead should pray frequently as a part of an established relationship with God.  We need to recognize that was must not depend on our own courage and goodness, but instead on our Father and preserver.  It isn’t enough to ask for protection in times of crisis, but the Lord is needed in our day-to-day lives to live up to the standards of right and wrong.  Our sufficiency must be of God and not of ourselves.  May our time of prayer personify this important truth.

PLEASE PRAY PASSIONATELY FOR THE SUFFICIENCY TO LIVE UP TO GOD’S STANDARDS OF RIGHT AND WRONG IN THIS LAND.  May our prayers personify God’s important truths, and reflect our nation’s noble beginnings.

Psalm 107:28-30 “Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.”

James 5:14-16 “Is any sick among you?  Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one of another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Luke 11:9-10 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

In light of the severe difficulties the men faced at Valley Forge, General Washington turned to the one thing that he knew could make a difference – he prayed.  The image of Washington kneeling in prayer has been described as the most sublime in American history (see next week’s post).  A Quaker named Isaac Potts described the prayer of Washington in this way: “Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man.”  His conclusion after seeing the fervent prayer of this founding father:  “it was the cause of God and America could prevail.”  Witnessing one man’s prayer convinced a skeptic that victory was possible.

Our fervent prayers can bring victory too!  They can calm the storm.  They can make still the waves.  They can bring us out of distress.  They can heal; they can save; they can raise.  The can bring forgiveness.  They can avail much!

We need such power in our land today.  PLEASE PRAY WITH FERVENCY FOR A REVIVAL IN OUR LIVES AND IN OUR LAND.  We need God’s power in all that we do, and with it we can prevail in spite of the distresses we face.

Deuteronomy 10:21 “He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.”

Deuteronomy 28:1-3 “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.  Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.”

General Washington closed his General Orders from December 17, 1777 (see previous two posts) with the following charge to his men:

“Tomorrow being the day set apart by the Honorable Congress for public Thanksgiving and Praise; and duty calling us devoutly to express our grateful acknowledgements to God for the manifold blessings he has granted us—The General directs that the army remain in its present quarters, and that the Chaplains perform divine service with their several Corps and brigades—And earnestly exhorts, all officers and soldiers, whose absence is not indispensably necessary, to attend with reverence the solemnities of the day.”

These men were busy as they started their time of winter lodging at Valley Forge.  They lacked food; they lacked clothing; they lacked equipment.  They needed to train, to drill, to exercise, and to march.  They lacked shelter from the harsh elements and desperately needed to build structures to protect themselves from the brutal conditions.

Yet, they prioritized a time of thanksgiving and praise.  They uplifted a period of grateful acknowledgement to God for the manifold blessing He had granted them.  More than clothes, shelter, food, and training, they needed to make an investment of worship and prayer.  They needed to attend with reverence the solemnities of the day.

American Christians in 2018 are busy with the endless challenges that we face.  We have things to do to keep our lives on track.  Some of it has to do with food, with clothing, and with equipment that we need.  Some if it involves requirements to train and to exercise.    Yet, we need to prioritize thanksgiving and praise.  We need to uplift regular periods of grateful acknowledgement to God for the manifold blessings He has granted us.  More than anything else, we need to make investments of worship and prayer.

PLEASE PRAY THAT WE WOULD PRIORITIZE WORSHIP AND PRAYER IN OUR BUSY LIVES.  Our forefathers did so, and blessings overtook them.  They were blessed in their cities and they were blessed in their fields.  Because they prioritized Him above the practical needs of the day, He set them on high above the nations of the earth.

Acts 4:32 “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul:  neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things in common.”

Philippians 1:27 “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ:  that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel”

As a part of the General Order from December 17^th, 1777 (see previous post), General Washington ordered the following: “the officers and soldiers, with one heart, and one mind, will resolve to surmount every difficulty, with a fortitude and patience, becoming their profession, and the sacred cause in which they are engaged.”  He recognized that their only hope for survival and success was to inseparably work together.

General Washington didn’t just use the phrase “with one heart and one mind” haphazardly.  He did so intentionally.  He did so recognizing the Biblical power of togetherness.  He did so seeing that the power of an inseparable spirit that enabled another fledging revolutionary movement to gain strength, power, and influence – the early church.  They too recognized that their only hope for survival and success was to inseparably work together in Christ.

So must we!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AN INSEPARABLE SPIRIT AMONG AMERICAN CHRISTIANS AS WE STRIVE TOGETHER FOR CHRIST IN THIS LAND.  We must resolve to surmount every difficulty.  We must do so with fortitude and patience becoming our Saviour.  After all, we are engaged in a sacred cause.  Let’s pursue it with one heart, one mind and one soul.

Matthew 20:26-28 “But it shall not be so among you:  but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

As the American Continental Army set up winter camp at Valley Forge, they realized that its harsh location was a necessary evil.  General Washington acknowledged their difficult situation in his General Orders from December 17, 1777: “These considerations make it indispensably necessary for the army to take such a position, as will enable it most effectually to prevent distress & to give the most extensive security; and in that position we must make ourselves the best shelter in our power—With activity and diligence Huts may be erected that will be warm and dry—In these the troops will be compact, more secure against surprises than if in a divided state and at hand to protect the country.”

As they would “endure hardships” as a part of “the sacred cause in which they [were] engaged”, he made them an important and noble promise:  “He himself will share in the hardship, and partake of every inconvenience.”  He would live among them.  He would face the difficult conditions alongside of them.  He would not ask them to do anything that he would not do himself.

In writing these words as a part of his General Order, he brilliantly and sacrificially codified servant leadership.

As Christians in America today, we must practice a form of leadership different from that of the world.  We must not use our positions to gain, but to spend and invest.  We must not use our positions to be served, but to serve.  We must not use our positions to gain glory and honor, but to deflect glory and honor.  We must be willing to share in the hardships of those other servant leaders among us and to partake in every inconvenience.  In doing so, we will harness the type of leadership that General Washington so powerfully practiced and that Christ so vividly modeled.

PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRISTIANS TODAY TO FOLLOW THE LEADERSHIP MODEL OF OUR FOREFATHERS AND OUR SAVIOUR.  By sharing in the hardships of those around us, we provide a powerful reminder of the amazing sacrifice of Christ.