PLUS

Psalm 9:20 “Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men.  Selah.”

A nation is a mere reflection of its individuals.  A country is but a composition of its citizens; America is but a composition of Americans.  Thus, if we want to see our nation transformed then we need to begin at the individual level.  Those who most greatly impact our national character are our leaders, and our faithful prayer for them is a good place to start.

A leader of an organization of any size has a disproportionate influence on the character and culture of that organization, a humbling thought for those in leadership positions.  The situation is no different for the leader of a city, state, or nation.  If the Lord were to mold the hearts of a few select individuals around us, then we would see that transformation manifested in a large scale way.  PLEASE PRAY FAITHFULLY AND FERVENTLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON OUR LAND.

Of course, a leader is a mere reflection of those who voted for him (or who failed to vote at all).  Thus, a nation gets the leaders that it deserves, those leaders who reflect the character of the nation’s citizens.  While the thoughts above should prompt us to pray for our leaders, these thoughts should also prompt us to closely examine ourselves.  Is the nation a reflection of my testimony?  Is my life truly distinct and different from the national culture that I claim to oppose?  Am I getting the leaders that I deserve?  If this nation were like me, would it be more like our nation today or more like the nation founded by our Christian forefathers?  Such an examination should prompt prayer for individual revival in our own lives, which is always the trigger for something greater.  PLEASE PRAY FOR INDIVIDUAL REVIVAL SO THAT A LAND THAT REFLECTS OUR INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER WOULD BE CHRIST-LIKE.

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

We should pray for our nation and its leaders because our Lord is a marvelous God who stands ready to amaze us.  We are directed to call unto Him so that He can answer us in His great and mighty ways that we cannot even fathom until He acts.  The moment we give up on praying is the moment we give up on the power of prayer and give up on our amazing God.

The Lord has done great and mighty things by miraculously allowing this nation to succeed in its bid for independence.  He has done great and mighty things by miraculously forming this nation upon a Christian foundation.  He has done great and mighty things time and again by miraculously enabling this nation to be a “Shining City on a Hill” as it puts its underlying Christian principles into action on the world stage.

We know not what the Lord stands ready to do in this land today if we are faithful to pray for our nation and its leaders.  We know not how He will shew Himself great and mighty.  We know not what situations He will alter or what individuals He will transform.  Sadly, we will never know unless we are faithful to call unto Him.

PLEASE CALL UNTO THE LORD DAILY AND FERVENTLY REGARDING OUR NATION AND ITS LEADERS.  Then, stand back and be ready to be amazed.

I Kings 3:9 “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”

Leaders face challenges that we can only imagine.  These challenges are made all the more daunting when they trust in their own wisdom to solve them.  Solomon recognized his insufficiency, and his willingness to turn to the Lord for wisdom and discernment “pleased the Lord.”  Through his humility, God allowed Solomon to “judge this thy so great a people.”  Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall recognized this same important truth and prayed:

“We need Thy strength, Thy guidance, Thy wisdom. There are problems far greater than any wisdom of man can solve.  What shall our leaders do in such an hour?  May Thy wisdom and Thy power come upon the President of these United States, the Senators and Congressmen, to whom have been entrusted leadership.  May the responsibility lie heavily on their hearts, until they are ready to acknowledge their helplessness and turn to Thee.  Give to them the honesty, the courage, and the moral integrity to confess that they don’t know what to do.  Only then can they lead us as a nation beyond human wisdom to Thee, who alone hast the answer.”

Until our leaders recognize their need for full reliance on the Lord, we must pray in their stead as Marshall recommends.  Our problems are far greater than they can solve.  Our problems are far greater than we can solve.  Until our nation – its leaders and its citizens – comes to the point where we recognize our helplessness, we will flail about in our own insufficient wisdom.  Yet, once we humbly rely upon the Lord, we can be led “as a nation beyond human wisdom.”

PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR LEADERS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR HELPLESSNESS AND TURN FULLY TO THE LORD.  God alone has the answer for the problems of today and tomorrow, and our leaders only need to humbly ask to receive it.

Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

The king’s heart is worth our prayer because it is in the Lord’s hand.  As the Lord wills, so goes the heart of even those who are rich and powerful.  The Chaplain of the Senate in the 1940s, Peter Marshall, recognized that our prayers should focus on the godliness of our most powerful leaders:

“We pray, Lord Jesus, for our President.  We are deeply concerned that he may know the will of God, and that he may have the spiritual courage and grace to follow it.  Deliver him, we pray, from all selfish consideration.  Lift him above the claims of politics.  Fill him with the Spirit of God that shall make him fearless to seek, to know, to do the right.  Save him from the friends who, in the name of politics or even friendship, would persuade him from that holy path.  Strengthen and empower his advisors.  Bring them, too, to their knees in prayer.  May their example and influence spread, that we, in these United States, may yet have a government of men who know Thee, the Almighty God, as their Friend, and who place Thy will first in their lives as well as in their prayers.”

Marshall’s prayer provides a wonderful reminder of the things we should pray about for our most powerful leaders.  We should pray for their salvation, their knowledge of the will of God, and their determination to follow that same will.  We should pray for our leaders to embody selflessness, higher purpose, courage, and discernment.  We should pray the same for those around them.  Only as the king’s heart turns whithersoever God wills it through our intercessory prayers can we expect to return to an America governed by Christian leaders who recognize the Lord’s preeminence in all our affairs.

Regardless of our alignment with our leaders, we should pray for them as Peter Marshall prayed.  In fact, the less we align with them and the more we think they are following an errant path, the more we should pray for them.  For those we oppose, we must recognize that a change of their heart is as simple for the Lord as a flick of the wrist.

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR LEADERS WOULD GET SAVED AND FAITHFULLY FOLLOW THE WILL OF GOD.   Our prayers, to the Lord that holds the leader’s heart in His hand, may return our nation to a government of men who know the Lord and who faithfully follow Him.  Such an end is certainly worth our time in prayer.

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Psalm 35:27-28 “Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.  And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.”

In addition to Duché’s prayer on September 7^th, 1774, the First Continental Congress spent time on that day reading the 35^th Psalm.  John Adams wrote the following to his wife about the impact of prayer and Bible reading as the First Continental Congress began its important role in colonial governance:  “I never saw a greater Effect upon an Audience.  It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that Morning.”  Regarding the time of prayer and Bible reading, he went on to write: “it has had an excellent Effect upon every Body here.”

The impact of prayer on those responsible for governing can be magnificent.  While we may be a long way from true prayer and Bible reading in our present-day national assembly, it need not be the case among Christian citizens that we fail to do so on their behalf.  Those who govern need a God-given “excellent Effect” upon their important role.  It is the only way that their actions representing us will “let the LORD be magnified.”  PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIAN CITIZENS WOULD PROVIDE INTERCESSORY PRAYER FOR OUR LEADERS UNTIL THEY RECOGNIZE THEIR NEED TO PRAY THEMSELVES.  We need excellence in our government, and must pray that God will give it to us.