Prayer for our nation

 "Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people." Proverbs 14:34


    As we approach our nations birthday, or at least the day we have designated as our birthday, July 4th, 1776, the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, I am inclined to think that perhaps we are in bigger danger than we have been in the history of our republic. Yes, I am aware of the fact that there were many dark days during the Revolutionary War when it looked like the young republic would not survive its difficult birth. There were more dark days durning he War between the States as the country was torn asunder and brother fought against brother and hundreds of thousands died and many  times more were wounded. And of course there were the dark days of World War II when Germany had taken most of Europe and was driving toward Moscow while the Japanese flag was flying in the Philippines, Korea, and over most of Southwest Asia, and much of China.
     These were tough and trying times for sure, but one thing was different during those days. The majority of this country believed in God and many thousands were in prayer for our leaders and our military as they fought and died around the globe.  Today that is not the case. Today we do not look to God to save us from our  problems. We look to politicians, to the government, to our own ability, and to many other false gods that we have set up for ourselves.
    The prophet Daniel lived in a country that had been destroyed by Babylon because Judah had been guilty of these same kinds of sins. As a captive in Babylon, he knew what to do.  He knew who to pray to. He has set an awesome example for us in chapter 9 of the book by his name. Let us look at a few verses:
     "Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the LORD my God , and made confession, and said 'O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.'" (Daniel 9:3-5, NKJV)

   He continues: "'O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day--to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries where You have scattered them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him."' (vs. 7-9)

   Later on Daniel pens these words; "'O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem,  Your Holy mountain; because our sins, and for the iniquity of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate."' (vs. 16-17)

    And finally, these words: "'O Lord hear! O Lord forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name."' (vs. 19)

   What an awesome prayer! You will probably want to read the whole chapter because it is all good and demonstrates the agony and sincerity of this magnificent man of God who knew how to pray and has provided this example for us to pray for our nation in like manner. The final words of verse 19 also point to a very key fact in all this. Even though we are not the chosen nation of Israel, we are His chosen sons and daughters if we are born again believers! We are His people and are called by His name! Let us pray like Daniel for our nation, for our churches, for our government, for our people, that He will forgive and He will heal our land.


Pray:

1. Thanking God for His manifold blessings in our lives and in the life or our nation.
2. Pray for our leaders in government, business, educational institutions, and churches.
3. Repent of your sins personally and cry out for forgiveness of our corporate sins as a church and as a nation.