Praying for America

A challenge for us all.....

We pray for leaders who have faith in Jesus and who seek to govern as servant leaders.  Leaders who will seek your wisdom and guidance for our nation, O God, while acting with the wisdom, compassion, conviction and courage which comes through faith in you, almighty God and Father!

"Freedom of Worship"  Norman Rockwell  1943

It's election time in America once again.  What a great blessing God has given us, the right to elect those who will lead our federal, state and local governments!

" we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. "

Abraham Lincoln

November 19, 1863

These days we do a lot of complaining about "those people in Washington"!  They're too liberal or they're too conservative, they're too extreme or they’re not extreme enough!  Are we ever happy?

As a Christian I have to admit a little shamefully that I'm guilty of that blame game as well.  And many of my Christian friends do the same.  We complain about our leaders and criticize their every move.  "They" are ruining our country, we say!  Often we get way too wrapped up in the politics of the day to the point of forgetting that God is sovereign and no matter what happens His power overcomes all of mankind’s failings.  If I put my trust in Him then I know things will turn out okay.

I am God, and there is not other; I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'

Isaiah 46:9-10

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 9:9-10

9 

Christians need to do more to influence the course of America.  We need to be engaged in our communities and in our political process at all levels.  We need to stand up for our faith and our values!  But perhaps the most important thing we should do, which just so happens to be one of the easiest, is come together and pray for our nation!  I think this is one of the times in the history of our nation that we need to rise up and ask God to deliver us!  Unlike some who might say that we’re worse off than we’ve ever been I think there have been times like this in our past.  As bad as things might seem now, how difficult it must have been during the darkest days of the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, the Great Depression and Pearl Harbor.  Surely during those times Americans felt that their nation was at risk!  And during those times they turned to prayer!

                                                    Prayer at Valley Forge by Arnold Friberg

As we approach another important election, and aren’t they all important really, I ask you to join with me to pray for our nation.   And I would challenge you to pray every day from now until November 4th.  Here’s my prayer:

Dear Lord, you have so richly blessed America and we give you thanks for those blessings.  Our forefathers came to you seeking guidance to build new lives and a new nation.  Our nation was founded on the knowledge that you, almighty God, granted all people certain rights and that to secure those rights we must institute a government which receives its’ power through the consent of the people.   Lord, once again, it is time to exercise this right of consent and elect a new class of leaders for government at all levels.  I pray, Father, that you’ll bless the upcoming election and direct us as we vote.  Grant us wisdom to elect those who will lead according to your will and desire for our nation. 

We pray for leaders who have faith in Jesus and who seek to govern as servant leaders.  Leaders who will seek your wisdom and guidance for our nation, O God, while acting with the wisdom, compassion, conviction and courage which comes through faith in you, almighty God and Father!

Lord, grant us a spirit of revival in America!  Let us turn from selfish desires and work together to rebuild what is broken, take care of those in need, protect the innocent and provide hope and a future for all who seek it!  Open our eyes to turn to you for deliverance and a brighter tomorrow!  Lord bless us for a new generation as you’ve done so many times in the past with leadership that honors you and the principles of freedom and hope with which since the days of our founding, you’ve so richly blessed America!!

In the name of Jesus I pray!

Amen

Learning to Trust God....

But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

Jeremiah 17:7

...Jesus told him, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

Mark 5:36

A few weeks ago our topic of discussion during Sunday School was how we trust.  More specifically, how we come to place our trust in others and in God.  We ran out of time before we got to discuss some practical ways to increase our trust in God so I thought I'd complete the discussion here.

We don't often give much thought to trust, but just as we rarely give notice to our hearts beating or lungs expanding, trust is vital to living.  Think of the things and people you trust.  You trust that the lights will come on when you flip the switch on the wall.  You trust the sun will come up tomorrow morning. There are people you count on and trust to be there for you in good times and bad.  Mom, dad, a sibling or that dearest of friends.

Where does trust come from?  For most of us we don't automatically trust new people we meet.  Trust is something very precious.  We give it away only after we're certain the person receiving it is worthy and capable of holding it.  We can give our trust to someone in a moment of crisis based on a person's credentials or expertise.  For instance, when we're having a heart attack we trust the cardiologist, who we most likely have never met, to heal us.  We place our lives in their hands.  But more often the process of granting trust occurs over a period of time as we work or relate to someone.  This happens with friends, associates at work, comrades in arms and lovers.  It happens in our relationship with God as well.   For some, trust in God comes during a time of crisis when there's seemingly nowhere else to turn.  But for many trust in God develops over time as we grow and mature in faith.

Trust and faith might seem to go hand-in-hand, especially for Christians, but one doesn't necessarily follow the other!  Faith in God's existence doesn't ensure we're ready to trust God in all things.  Accepting Jesus as my savior doesn't guarantee I'm able to release control of my life to him.  Even though we say we trust God and have faith He will take care of us, we want to go our own way, solving problems and living life using our own meager abilities.

So if trust is earned should we expect God to earn our trust?  God doesn't really owe us anything but whether we deserve it or not, incredibly, God has earned our trust by His actions since the beginning of time.  He has been faithful since the day He created us.  Faithful to provide for us even to the point of sending Jesus, His son, to the cross to die for us so that we can reside with God for all eternity. God didn't have to earn our trust but because He loves us so much He did it anyway.  He's gone out of His way to show that He is trustworthy.  If we have faith in Jesus we have to see that he deserves our trust.  We have to return God's faithfulness and love by trusting Him with all aspects of our lives.

Trusting God sounds easy but like so many aspects of our faith acting in trust can be difficult.  How do we learn to trust God more.  I saw an excellent article entitled How to Trust God When Life is Hard and they suggested the following ideas for trusting God more:

1)  Let go of the idea that life should always go your way.
2)  Turn to God in prayer and ask for help.
3)  Seek stories from others about how their trust in God has been rewarded.
4)  Be thankful for God's blessings to remind you that He is to be trusted.
5)  Seek encouragement from others to move beyond yourself.
6)  Adopt an eternal perspective.

I would add a few others:

7)  Turn to God's word and see how people in the Bible trusted God.
8)  Ask yourself what your life would look like if God was totally absent to acknowledge His        
     presence in your life.
9)  Remind yourself that trust in earthly things is often misplaced and that in the end, when all others
     fail you, God is true and faithful.  He deserves your trust.


Perhaps you have other ways that you've come to trust God more.  I'd love to hear them.

Pray for God to reveal the times in your life that He has fulfilled your trust in Him:

Dear Lord, it isn't always easy to trust in things unseen but we feel your presence in our lives.
We see the beauty of your creation and live under  the fulfillment of the promise of grace you made to us through Jesus' life, death and resurrection.
Strengthen my trust almighty God!  Open my eyes to the ways you touch me so I can grow more confident and trust in you more!  
Move me to take steps of faith and trust in you, my provider and savior.  
Show me how to trust Lord and how to be more faithful to you.
In Jesus I pray and trust.  
Amen.