AMERICA CAN BE SAVED
Although
I am not, by nature, an alarmist, I am writing you today to sound an alarm to
alert you to a danger that has arisen in America in this hour, and to encourage
you to respond to it with faith-filled action.
What I
am about to say, I believe comes not just from me but from the heart of the
Holy Spirit. I am convinced He is
speaking to us these days with great urgency and intensity. And as we move though this 4th of
July season, and are mindful of the blessings God has poured out on America,
the Lord Himself is sounding the alarm.
He is
re-awakening us, as Christians in America, to a call that is fundamental to the
ministry of every believer. He is
alerting us to the danger we face and, for the sake of our country’s future, He
is calling us to do the only thing that can avert it.
He is
calling us back to the ministry of intercession.
For the
past twenty years or so, the Church in America has drifted away from this
ministry. You may not be aware of it,
if you are younger than I am (and, given my current age, most likely you
are). But from my vantage point the
change is unmistakable.
In my
early years when I began pastoring, intercessory prayer was woven into the very
fabric of the Church. Our congregation at Church On The Way, like many others,
was very much “into it”, (as we might
have said back then) not because intercession was hip or popular, but because
in those days it was considered foundational to the Christian life.
Sadly, however, this is
no longer the case. Interceding
congregations are scarce these days.
The
praying Church in our nation has declined.
We are considerably distanced from the intercessory pattern that
characterized the lives of Believers 30 or 40 years ago. Although there are Believers here and there
who know a good deal about it, multitudes of Christians don’t. Even some of those who have been faithful
intercessors in the past have let it slip.
Rather than continuing to watch and pray, some have drifted off to
sleep.
I
don’t mean to be melodramatic, Loved one, but this is the unvarnished truth:
neglecting the ministry of intercession has cost us dearly. It has taken a
great toll, not just on the Church but on our entire nation.
We see
the evidence of it all around us: economic and governmental problems too
numerous to mention, a disregard for Biblical values in our culture, an absence
of the fear of the Lord. As Believers,
we are disappointed and frustrated by such conditions and are quick to voice our
dismay. We call for political action. We talk about getting out the vote and
booting out of office the politicians and government officials who got us unto
this mess. But the Scriptural reality
is politicians and government officials are not the cause of our problems.
America
is in the condition it is in today because of the prayerlessness of the Church!
Our nation is spiritually and morally sick because so many Christians
are either unaware of God’s call to intercede, or unaware of how to go about
it.
I am not
suggesting that as Christians we should not vote and be active in
government. But our votes alone will
not make enough difference. Political
activism will not meet the need. No
amount of human energy or enterprise can save this country.
The only thing that will
save America now is prayer.
Some
might consider this bad news, but it’s actually not. The future of America, though seriously imperiled, is
salvageable. If the living Church will
arise to be the Church that God intends, this nation can be turned around. If Believers will once again become
responsible and sensitive to the call to intercede, we will find God’s Word is
still good. His power is still
sufficient. In our day, as in the days
of Solomon, He will fulfill His promise:
“If My
people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My
face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will
forgive their sin and heal their land.
II
Chronicles 7:14-15
“But
Pastor Jack”, you might say “The problems we face are so massive, I don’t know
what to pray. I’m so disgusted and
distressed by them I don’t know where to start.”
Then
start with forgiveness. Forgiveness
opens the doors to effective intercession.
Why? Because to intercede is to step in on behalf
of someone else. It is to do for
another, through prayer, what Jesus did for us. As the ultimate Intercessor, He stood before God on our behalf
when we were too unworthy, rebellious, or ignorant to stand before Him on our
own. “He bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for them all.” Isaiah
53:12
As
Believers, we’re called to follow His example, to go to God in prayer for those
who cannot and will not go to Him themselves. But we can’t do it with anger and
irritation in our hearts. We can’t intercede for people when we’re mad at them.
On the contrary, our intercession must begin, as Jesus’ did on the cross, with
the cry, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!” Luke 23:24
That cry
is not often heard in the church these days. It seems we are better schooled in
political judgementalism analysis, and criticism than being the first to
forgive. This is one reason the ministry of intercession has been crippled.
But you
and I can help turn the tide We can ask God to forgive, not just the sinful and
broken people around us, but everyone in our society, no matter how grotesque,
corrupt, or evil they’ve become. Instead of calling for condemnation, we can
say, “Lord, what’s happening in our nation is not worthy of You. It merits
judgment but I ask for Your for mercy. Father, forgive us, as a people, and
breathe on us Your redemptive grace.”
Can such
simple prayers make a difference? Absolutely. You are an anointed child of the
Most High God. Even a brief prayer uttered from your lips can change things.
What’s more, you don’t
have to stop there.
You can
do more. You can pray on-beyond yourself and your own abilities because, as
Romans 8:26 says, “The Spirit… helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what
we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for
us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Imagine
a child trying to put together a puzzle that’s too complicated for him. Then
envision a father taking hold of the child’s hand and helping him put the
pieces in the right places. That’s what the Holy Spirit does for us. As we
yield to Him in intercession, He helps us. He takes hold together with us and
gives us spiritual words and groanings that are beyond our natural
comprehension so that we can pray exactly the right thing.
Oh, how
good and great is our God! I simply can’t fit in this letter all I want to say
about Him and what He’s calling us to do in this hour.
Beloved,
America can be saved! You and I, as Abraham’s spiritual seed, we can help bring
God’s blessing on this nation. So let’s do it. Let’s change history by rising
up and being the Church God intends us to be.
Pastor Jack Hayford
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