Pray for America

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

After watching the presidential debates, my heart is heavy/broken, thinking about where America has come from, to where we are now.

Does America have a future? Are our best years behind us? Are we headed for the ash heap of history? I heard someone say recently that there will always be an America, just not the one we have known.

I don’t think anyone can answer questions like these with absolute certainty, but this much we do know: Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord [Psalm 33.12a]. The opposite is also true: No nation is blessed if God is not its Lord.

America was not the first nation to rise, nor will it be the last to fall. And the truth is, every nation has, or will, expire. I don’t think America will be the exception. The bigger question, then, is how long can we survive since we are pushing God away from our culture?

Historian Will Durant, in his book, The Story of Civilization: Caesar and Christ, said, "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within. The essential causes of Rome's decline lay in her people, her morals…” That sounds pretty much like today’s America to me. Instead of freedom of religion, we are declaring freedom from religion. 

We have, as a nation, been successful in removing God from our schools, sporting events, public venues, and workplaces. Think about it. We aren’t suppose to say, “Merry Christmas,” lest we offend someone. And heaven forbid that we say, “God bless you.” You can almost see one’s head explode! And please don’t get me started about Easter/Resurrection. I refuse to say, “Happy Spring Break!”

We need to turn our eyes, and our hearts, back to the Lord. Perhaps a remembrance of September 11, 2001 will inspire us. After that infamous day, I remember seeing prayer vigils on street corners. I remember members of Congress singing “God Bless America.” I remember churches packed with people, praying for our nation. It will be things like these, and repentance, if we are to survive as a nation.

When the late Peter Marshall was the Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, he said, "The choice before us is plain: Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or disintegration.”

Is there hope for America? Well, if God could turn around wicked Nineveh, He can turn us around too! 

Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation. Psalm 85:6-7