Thursday, May 7, 2009

Prayer


Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 (New Living Translation)



Today is National Day of Prayer. Our president does not want to acknowledge it, but it is a day to come together and pray for our nation. I would say right now that our nation could use prayer more than ever. We are at war, our economy is bad and people are losing their jobs, families are falling apart, we are a nation that is being morally pulled apart in all directions. Do we need to come together and pray and ask God to forgive us as a nation, as a people? Yes!
I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. 1 Timothy 2:8
I pulled the following information off the National Day of Prayer web site. The ask each person to pray for SEVEN things each day of the week. They are listed below.


Are you willing to commit to pray for our country seven days a week? Are you able to set aside time in your car, during your coffee break, or before bedtime? We want to challenge you make this prayer commitment. 7x7 involves praying for seven centers of power seven days a week: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family. By remembering these specific prayer points, we can cover all Americans with God's power. Together, we will see positive change!


Why We Pray
As American troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, President Franklin Roosevelt called for our nation to unite in prayer. He also offered a prayer to prepare each citizen for the road ahead. "Let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be. And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee." The victory that followed on June 6, 1944-also known as D-Day-began the march to Berlin. Eighteen months later, WWII was over and one of the world's greatest evils had been defeated. The prayers of a nation had been a powerful force. Prayer has always been used in this country for guidance, protection and strength-even before we were a nation or a handful of colonies. The Pilgrims at Plymouth relied on prayer during their first and darkest winter. Our founding fathers also called for prayer during the Constitutional Congress. In their eyes, our recently created nation and freedoms were a direct gift from God. And being a gift from God, there was only one way to insure protection-through prayer. President Abraham Lincoln knew this well. It was his belief that, "it is the duty of nations as well as men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God." When it came to the fate of the nation, he practiced what he preached. Before the battle of Gettysburg, he turned to God in prayer. "I went to my room one day and I locked the door and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to him mightily for victory at Gettysburg." Won by the Union, Gettysburg was one of the turning points in the war that ended slavery and kept the states united.

Today the need for prayer is as great as ever. Our nation again faces battlefields, along with an epidemic of broken homes, violence, sexual immorality and social strife. As the heroes of our nation did in the past, we must again bow our heads in prayer. We must ask the Lord to bless our leaders with wisdom and protection, and that we will have the fortitude to overcome the challenges at hand. If Roosevelt, the Pilgrims and Lincoln never underestimated the power of prayer, neither should we.It is our goal that you, your family and friends would participate in the National Day of Prayer. We pray that the event impacts your life, and that praying for our nation moves from a one-day event to a lifetime endeavor. So join us and pray with conviction that God would continue to shed His grace on thee.

Need to know what prayer is and how to pray? Go here

2 comments:

SimplyDarlene said...

Thank you dear sister in Christ. Isn't is awesome to know that our prayers, though they may be of different shapes, sizes and forms, are all landing in our Heavenly Father's heart this day?!

Sandi said...

I had made the comment the other day if our President doesn't see the need for national day of prayer we need to be praying for him and our country even more. We need to pray daily.

Brave

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