UNITY IN PRAYER
by Rich Farm
“Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice…and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place” ~ 2 Chron 7:12, 14-15
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” ~ James 4:8
From the Separatists who left England for a New World to our Founders and beyond we have been a nation of prayer and have expressed our dependance on God. We could list person after person through our history that have called out for the wisdom, protection and providence of the Creator they believed in. By 1952 there was a bill written by Conrad Hilton of Hilton hotels and Sen. Frank Carlson of Kansas stating that the President shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer (Public Law 82-324 Sec 119). By 1988 Ronald Regan signs Public Law 100-307 which designated the first Thursday of May as the annual observance of the National Day of Prayer, and it has been that way since. Then in 1998 Bill Clinton signed Public Law 105-225 “the president shall issue each year” the proclamation that the first Thursday in May is the National Day of Prayer.
We are about to have our 72 annual National Day of Prayer on May 4th, 2023. Now those of us that are Christians know that prayer should be a lifestyle. Quite simply put it is communication with the very One who created us and gives us life every day. It is a conversation with our Father who loves and guides us. It should be a lifeline to us, not a once in a while thing. Yet in a culture that has succumbed to the lie of separation of church and state, I see something quite interesting in the proclamation that I feel should be used to stand for our rights to prayer anywhere and everywhere in the public square, even and especially in our schools. Here is the entirety of the proclamation, “The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.”
The section “turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals” seems to be limitless. Obviously as Christians we should be bold enough despite the ridicule and public attacks to stand for our right to express our religious beliefs wherever we are and whenever we have the opportunity. However, I see this as an open invitation one time a year to certainly oppose the separation of church and state myth. It says “in groups, and as individuals” and puts absolutely no limitations on where or when, other than this day being specifically designated for such opportunity. We obviously want to respect the school and work day, as we have a responsibility as a student to be educated, and a responsibility to our companies to give them our allotted time for the work of business. Yet this should not stop us from organizing as groups or individuals before, after, or during lunch periods.
As I said as believers, we should be doing this constantly regardless, but Jesus said where two or three are gathered I am there also. There is also so much power in corporate prayer and agreement on specific items. We see this in Genesis 11 with the tower of Babel. “The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” This was used for evil purposes but is a principle in the power of corporate unity. If we could all come together as one on one specific day and have some specific points of prayer to focus on imagine the mountains we could move with our combined faith. Boy does our nation need it desperately with the cultural decline we are facing.
There is one thing we need to realize that we will not change this nation’s moral decline through elected politicians, it is going to be done by the people of this nation for the love of this nation. We don’t have a gun issue or an abortion issue or a race issue, we have a heart issue. We’ve indoctrinated at least two generations in the philosophy of evolution which at its core devalues humans to a cosmic accident. Where as a biblical perspective places value in every human being as a child of God despite color, creed, sex, social or economical status. Every person was created by God with a purpose on this earth and is there by valuable to all. You can see how the elite use division and classes of all kinds to separate us and weaken us. As we fight against each other they get away with stealing more and more freedoms from us.
So let me encourage you today to make a commitment in your heart to participate in this next National Day of Prayer on May 4th, 2023. Organize a group and some specific times to come together in prayer for specific things, and watch God move on behalf of a faithful and committed people. Below I’ve listed some topics of possible prayer focuses. Some of these will require us to surrender our preconceived notions to God and clothe ourselves with humility as we pray for God’s will to be done in all things.
Pray for Israel – Genesis 12:3; Psalm 122:6
Pray for our Leaders – 1 Timothy 2:1-4
Pray for our Pastors – Ephesians 6:19-20
Pray for laborers – Luke 10:2
Pray for our enemies – Matthew 5:44; Acts 7:59-60
Pray that a standard of morality is reestablished – Luke 11:28
Pray for unity (with God & with man) – John 15:4-5
Prayers of repentance – 2 chronicles 7:14; Ezra 10:1; Acts 3:19; James 4:8
WHAT WE ARE AND WHAT WE HAVE
by Susan Snelling
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. Ronald Reagan
The Constitution tells us who we are as a people. Benjamin Franklin wrote to Joseph Galloway, February 18, 1774: “I wish most sincerely…that a Constitution [were] formed … for America, that we might know what we are and what we have, what our Rights and what our Duties, in the judgment of this Country as well as in our own. Till such a Constitution is settled, different Sentiments will ever occasion Misunderstandings.” The document is of great historical significance, and the Founders began to understand their importance in the creation of the great experiment of American republicanism. Speaking of himself in the second person, Gouverneur Morris said, “He came here as a representative of America; he flattered himself he came here in some degree as a representative of the whole human race, for the whole human race will be affected by the proceedings of this convention.”
What the Framers of the Constitution wanted was to establish a federal government and specify the limitations to that government, its enumerated powers, so it did not infringe on the rights of the people nor interfere with the states, which have their own constitutions. The Constitution gives the federal government some of their original power but most of it remains with the states. There were a variety of problems with the individual states, including lack of unity. The federal government served to unify but with limited power so it could not usurp the states’ power. The federal government serves the states, not the other way around. But it is incumbent upon the states to make sure the federal government stays within its enumerated powers. The states are to make sure the Constitution is followed.
It is the states that have most of the power but the federal government is not checked as it should be. If more people understood this, would we have the overgrown federal bureaucracy that we have today? I dare say that Benjamin Franklin would be disappointed today. There appears to be too many that do not know what we have or what we are or what our rights and duties are. And this puts our liberties at risk.
The importance of American citizens learning about the Constitution cannot be overstated. George Washington wrote to John Augustine Washington on May 31, 1776: A constitution founded on these principles introduces knowledge among the people, and inspires them with a conscious dignity becoming freemen; a general emulation takes place, which causes good humor, socialbility, good manners, and good morals to be general. That elevation of sentiment inspired by such a government, makes the common people brave and enterprising. That ambition which is inspired by it makes them sober, industrious, and frugal.
After hearing those words of Washington’s, wouldn’t anyone be inspired to want to learn all about this great document, the Constitution? Studying and understanding the Constitution for its original intent is crucial if we want to keep our liberties. It is of paramount importance to teach our youth and the all too many adults who seem to be derelict in their knowledge of this great document, even some of our congressmen it would seem! Without this knowledge it is impossible to keep our representatives and the president honest and the government from becoming tyrannical. A people knowledgeable about what we have, who we are, and what our rights and duties are, are necessary for the success of this Republic.
Regarding President Reagan’s quote at the beginning of this article, I find myself talking about what it was like when I was growing up, a much different time. How we were taught our Founding documents and about our Christian beginnings. And that America was a good place, not perfect, but good and free and the American people were good people. Today children are too often taught through the media, their schools, and by even some who serve in elected office that America is bad and Americans are bad people, and where they live under a soft tyranny with eroding freedoms. The Republic will not survive with this kind of corruption. Pray for this generation of young people that they have a revelation of the truth of what we are and what we have, who they are as individuals created by God with destiny and purpose, and of their rights and duties as Americans..