Pray for America!
Tony Cooke

Pray for America!Many are distressed because of challenges our country has faced and is facing. Many feel overwhelmed. God wants us—His people—to trust in Him.

God is alive.
God reigns.
God cares profoundly and deeply for our nation.

In the Old Testament, Jerusalem and the people of Judah were facing an imminent threat from neighboring armies that were advancing on them. Jehoshaphat prayed:

2 Chronicles 20:12 (NLT)
O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.

When Benjamin Franklin addressed the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, he said:

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 they labor 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.

While I believe in us doing all we can do, there is something powerful that happens when God’s people throw themselves completely upon Him in total reliance.

John 14:1 (NKJV)
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

We are not praying from fear, confusion, or desperation.
We are praying from faith, consecration, and devotion.
We believe that God is working and will work in our nation.

As we pray for the nation, let’s remember the significance of the church. Let’s remember that Jesus commissioned us to be salt and light in the earth. As the church rises to its fullness, the godly influence exerted will impact our entire nation.

Jesus spoke to a local congregation in Revelation chapter two—Thyatira. This was a church that had some problems to correct, and yet Jesus saw good in the church. He said:

Revelation 2:19 (NLT)
I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

My prayer is that the church will not experience regression, but progress—constant improvement in all things.

Two areas we want to see constant improvement in pertain to things Jesus Himself made a specific focus of prayer:
  1. He prayed for the unity of the church (John 17:20-23).
  2. He prayed that laborers would be raised up to take in the harvest (Matt 9:38).

A.B. Simpson once said, “God is preparing His heroes; and when the opportunity comes, he can fit them into their places in a moment, and the world will wonder where they came from.”

“Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.”                        
– Daniel Webster