Today is the National Day of Prayer. I hope that people of faith in God will pray for the United States of America as we’ve never prayed before. A friend and I were talking last night and we agreed that prayer changes things; prayer is not a place of last resort, it should be our daily companion. We should never be hopeless as long as we can pray. Problems may press in from on all sides, so many troubling and unsolvable things that the world looks mighty dark; however, God can do anything. Without Him, all is lost; with Him, hope soars like an eagle.
Scripture gives us the key to unlock the door to victory: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
It is frustrating and disheartening to see and hear lawmakers wring their hands, trying one solution to national problems after the other and none of them work. This reminds me of someone about to slide off a cliff onto sharp rocks below. A rescuer offers him a strong, steady hand to pull him to safety and the man who is about to fall to his death refuses help, very sure that he can figure his way out of the dilemma all by himself.
Scripture could not be clearer where our help lies. It’s right in front of us. Why won’t we take that sure, strong, hand and be pulled to safety?
“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth…The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face; they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways…The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee…The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways…And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail…But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.” (Deuteronomy 28: 1, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15).
So, on this National Day of Prayer, let’s admit that God’s ways are better than our ways. Let’s not be headstrong but humble. There is a small phrase in the above Scripture that says it all: “walk in his ways”. I don’t want to walk in any other way. Do you?
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