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To
Pray for a Nation
by Pastor Jack Hayford
Most Americans
heard the name of Martin Treptow for the first time on a cold Tuesday
morning years ago when Ronald Reagan delivered his first inaugural
address.
The president
quoted from the diary of an American soldier who gave his life in
battle in World War I. Unforgettable were the words, "I will
do my utmost as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me
alone."
Those words
hit me as memorably parallel to the message the Holy Spirit has
communicated to our church congregation again and again over the
years: You are to pray as though no other church is praying.
We
have had moments of neglect, I am afraid, but by and large we have
stood faithfully at our posts—or knelt there.
We
believe the results have been visible, and we are encouraged to
move back into the trenches of spiritual warfare as day after day
brings reports of victories and advances—as well as new lines of
battle.
The
facts of God's eternal Word indicate that such praying is not only
valid, but that it is also (1) commanded by God, (2) invited
by His promises, (3) enabled by His Spirit, and (4) fruitful
beyond all dreams.
God
commands us to pray for nations.
The specific
directives of 1 Timothy 2:1-3 and Psalm 2:8 are sufficient to demonstrate
that a believer's commitment to prayer at a national and international
level springs more from the heart and mind of God than from some
fevered fanaticism on the part of the spiritually exuberant. If
God commands such prayer, believe this: He will answer it!
He will move with power because of it, and He won't do anything
without it! He requires the prayer's partnership, not because
His ability is crippled without it, but because His purpose in bringing
us to maturity includes it.
The
promises of the Word invite us.
No passage
of God's Word is more fraught with promise than 2 Chronicles 7:14-16.
In short, the Lord says that no nation is beyond salvaging, healing,
restoring, and delivering—IF His people will pray. The follow-up
promises in the passage indicate He not only moves in
to work in that land, but also He will uniquely dwell among
people who learn to pray that way. And thereby, His dwelling with
them will manifest in power and blessing among them!
The
Holy Spirit enables intercessors.
We all need
to learn to pray in the times we feel we don't know what to say.
There are few times like national prayer times that reduce people
to speechlessness, to doubt, to the wondering inquiry, "What
should I ask for?"
But the Spirit-filled
believer is promised help in Romans 8:26-27. The one thing that
must be noted, however, is that such assistance only conjoins those
who are ready to pray with passion!
Begin by allowing
yourself to be stirred with a need: There's a crisis in morality,
a crisis in human justice, a crisis in international politics, a
crisis in economic mismanagement, a crisis in social decay, a crisis
in domestic values. Think! Look at the newspaper, listen to the
radio, watch the reports. When you do, let your awareness be turned
to prayer passion. Let the Holy Spirit help you take it from there.
The
fruit will manifest…
… As in the classic case of 2 Chronicles 20, when Jehoshaphat
called the people to prayer for the nation's deliverance. Fasting
with prayer brought victory then, and our God, who stands by
His promises with an equal availability today, awaits your
acceptance of the high privilege of prayer and sharing in its power
to determine national issues. |
Jack
Hayford Ministries
14800 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91405-2233