Tag: America

DAY 5

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20 NKJV)

On January 23, 1996, Rev. Joe Wright, pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita, prayed the following opening prayer for the Kansas State Senate in Topeka.

“Heavenly Father,

We come before You today to ask Your Forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ”Woe to those who call evil good,” but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our Spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values. We confess that; we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism; We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism; We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle; We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery; We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation; We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare; We have killed our unborn and called it choice; We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable; We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem; We have abused power and called it political savvy; We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition; We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression; We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of this state and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state of Kansas. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your Will.

 I ask this in the name of your Son, The Living Savior, Jesus Christ”

 In response to Rev. Wright’s prayer, one member of the Senate walked out and others voiced strong criticism. However, when Paul Harvey aired the prayer on his radio show he received the greatest response to any story ever reported on his program.

 Pray that America will stop calling evil good and good evil. Pray that we will repent of our evil and return to God.

DAY 4

“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)

When the Constitutional Convention appeared hopelessly deadlocked and the framing of an American Constitution all but impossible, Benjamin Franklin rose to make the following suggestion:

 “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that ‛except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it.’ I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.

 I therefore beg leave to move-that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that Service.”

 If the framers realized the need of prayer in the drafting of our Constitution, surely we should realize the need of prayer in the preserving of it! If they acknowledged the need of an eye toward God to protect us from the disunity of “little partial local interests,” how can we shut our eyes to God and hope to remain a united people?

 Pray that our nation would return to the original intent of the framers of our Constitution, as well as to their acknowledged need of “the assistance of Heaven.”

DAY 3

“Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22)

Is it ever unchristian to vote? Many will unhesitatingly answer this question with a resounding “No!” Voting, we are told, is a Christian obligation never to be shirked. Yet, what is a Christian to do when neither candidates nor ballot initiatives offer righteous alternatives on important issues? Customarily, we are told to hold our nose, do our duty and vote for the least of evils.

When did the least of evils become an acceptable choice for the people of God? Is a  choice between the least of evils ever a good enough choice for Christians, those who have been called by God to eschew evil altogether? Regardless of its lesser degrees and fainter shades, evil is always an unacceptable choice for the people of God.

As Christians, I don’t believe that we should make any choices at the polls until we’re afforded with choices that we can make with clear consciences. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather stand before God and answer for my failure to vote than to stand before God and answer for violating my conscience by casting a vote for the lesser of two evils.

 Furthermore, if this country’s Christians refuse to take an uncompromising stand for the truth, who will? And what happens to our nation when the salt of the earth and the light of the world—the church, which is the conscience of our country—can be purchased by politicians and political parties for nothing more than lesser evils? If Christians can be bought at such bargain prices then our country is morally bankrupt and spiritually insolvent.

Pray that the church will refuse to compromise its stand for the truth, regardless of whether it is in the pulpit, prayer closet or polling place.

DAY 2

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6)

A few years ago, Mark Osterloh, a former Arizona gubernatorial candidate, came up with a novel idea. He proposed that $1 million dollars be rewarded in every general election to a lucky voter chosen by lottery. According to Osterloh, since the odds of winning the election lottery would be far greater than winning the popular Powerball jackpot (1-in-146 million), non-voting, lottery-playing Arizonians would be motivated to start showing up at the polls for a chance to win a million bucks. Gratefully, Osterloh’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Vote!” ballot initiative was soundly defeated by Arizona voters.

 Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t believe that greater voter turnout is good for America. As far as I’m concerned, there are already too many uninformed people voting. I agree with Winston Churchill, who once said, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” The last thing this country needs is more uninformed and uninterested voters determining its future by carelessly casting their ballots in hopes of winning an election lottery jackpot.

 Did you know that to vote in colonial America one had to pass a poll test and have a “stake in society”; that is, own property or pay taxes? Voting was considered so important that only the informed and invested were considered qualified to cast ballots. Today, however, just about anybody can vote, regardless of whether or not they own property, pay taxes, or know anything about the issues. Thus, higher voter turnout in today’s America certainly doesn’t assure a better outcome; in fact, it may guarantee the opposite.

 If Mr. Osterlah’s idea had passed, he predicted that it would have quickly spread to other states. Just think, before long Americans could have been casting their ballots in hopes of cashing in on election lottery jackpots, not in hopes of bettering our country or its prospects for the future. I don’t know about you, but I believe reducing our democracy to a scratch-and-win game would have proven to be just one more nail in our country’s coffin.

John F. Kennedy once said, “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” How impaired will our security be by your vote today?

Since our country’s hope is found in our prayer closets, not our polling places, pray that America will turn from its faith in the electorate back to faith in God.

DAY 1

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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 will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Make no mistake about it; revival is America’s only hope of survival. If America is to change, its people must change. If the American people are to change, revival must come. If revival is to come, it must begin in the church. And if revival is to begin in the church, it must start in your heart! Thus, the best thing you can do for your county is to get your heart right with God!

 Contrary to popular opinion, America’s answer is not found in the Oval Office, beneath the Capital Dome, before the bar of the Supreme Court or in the polling place and ballot box. Instead, it is found in the altars of our churches. Until they are filled with repentant and broken hearts, as well as warm and free flowing tears, our country’s sole and certain prospect is divine retribution.

 If revival doesn’t come to America, it won’t be the fault of the American people, but of the people of God in America. The blame won’t be laid at the steps of the White House, the Capital or the Supreme Court, but at the steps of the church. For only we can prevent revival fires!

Pray for revival in America!