Abraham Lincoln, knowing it was impossible for any mortal to succeed in the impossible assignment of being President of the United States, called for prayer.
I am suggesting that we take seriously what Abraham Lincoln proposed and pray as instructed in I Timothy, chapter 2, verses 1-8 (The Message):
“The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live. He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth. Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God.”
Here in I Timothy, chapter 2, the apostle is implying that we are separated from God by sin until we are convicted of sin, make confession, and then place our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Knowing Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are called to pray for one another and to pray for those authorities who are charged to rule with righteousness and honor. We read in Proverbs 14:34 (NKJV) that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Nearly all Christians and most Americans in our country today are aware of the disgraceful division and increased hatefulness, unrest, and violence on the streets and in the parks of our cities. We must have sincere Spirit-anointed prayer warriors coming against this American state of increasing lawlessness!
The fate of America is at stake! We must experience a great spiritual revolution of divine power to bring spiritual, moral, and social renewal. The Word of God tells us that this comes through prayer, repentance, humility, and obedience to the Word of God and love for one another. In this 21st century, we must see even greater revivals than those experienced in our nation in the 1700s and 1800s when God sent evangelists from England to preach repentance and faith in Christ. We need a greater spiritual awakening than our America saw under the leadership of the Spirit-filled evangelist Charles Finney. But in the present time and in coming years, we must see an even greater outpouring of the Spirit to awaken the slumbering believers and to stir the souls of lost sinners to repent of their sins. Thousands of people were saved through the preaching of the great evangelists A. B. Simpson, D. L. Moody, and Billy Graham. In 2020 and beyond we must see the greatest outpourings of the Holy Spirit on saints and sinners than those seen in the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on 120 believers. Within a few hours following that event, thousands of penitent born-again Christians were added to the church.
As a Christian pastor for 45 years and an evangelist 30 years, I am greatly concerned about the moral, spiritual, and political state of our America. It was my privilege to be with Dr. Billy Graham in ministry for several years. We often prayed together for our nation. Of course, Dr. Graham was known the world over, and I had the joy of being with him abroad and in many of our 50 states here in America. As we prayed together, I often heard him weep and pray for the kind of revival that would turn the tide and open the heavens for conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit to condition hearts for repenting and trusting Christ as Savior, then to let the Spirit of God help them change from a life of sin to holy living in following Christ, worshiping, leading their families and friends and neighbors to Jesus, and begin praying for the nation, focusing on their own communities. Billy Graham carried a heavy burden for our American presidents. I had the privilege of going with him to the White House and to other places to pray with some of them. He had led at least three of those presidents to Christ, and they would join us in prayer. May God give us such presidents and other leaders in government who are faithful in prayer.
Samuel Adams, one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence, reminded the world of the heavenly responsibility of casting a ballot for a president. He said, “Let each citizen remember, at the moment he is offering his vote, that he is not making a present or a compliment to please one of the most solemn trusts in human society, for which he is accountable to God and his country.” While evil is climbing in the world, the moral fabric of our nation is declining, and faith is weakening in the church
God is calling His believers in America to fast and pray that He will turn the tide of history. Our American morale and political situation are such that it is too late to look for a political solution. Our loving and merciful God is promising to intervene and pour out His Holy Spirit to revive the church and redeem the lost. We who love God must seek a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. As we do, the Spirit will empower, enlighten, and inspire us to prevail with God in fasting and praying for the only possible solution for the moral, spiritual, and social darkness that is destroying this great nation that began as God’s plan for “a shining city on the hill for all the world to see.” I close this message with a prayer, and I hope that many of you will be praying for the will of God in the coming presidential election.
“Our Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name, I pray that many faithful believers in every community in our nation will hear the call of the Holy Spirit to come upon us with a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to obey Your Word in praying for another transforming spiritual awakening. Give us ears and hearts to hear You call us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, [we] take up the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. [May we] Stand therefore, having girded [our] waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod [our] feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which [we] will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And [help us] take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all saints [and sinners]” (Ephesians 6:11-18, NKJV)
God is calling His believers in America to fast and pray that He will turn the tide of history. Our American morale and political situation are such that it is too late to look for a political solution. Our loving and merciful God is promising to intervene and pour out His Holy Spirit to revive the church and redeem the lost. We who love God must seek a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit. As we do, the Spirit will empower, enlighten, and inspire us to prevail with God in fasting and praying for the only possible solution for the moral, spiritual, and social darkness that is destroying this great nation that began as God’s plan for “a shining city on the hill for all the world to see.” I close this message with a prayer, and I hope that many of you will be praying for the will of God in the coming presidential election.
“Our Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name, I pray that many faithful believers in every community in our nation will hear the call of the Holy Spirit to come upon us with a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to obey Your Word in praying for another transforming spiritual awakening. Give us ears and hearts to hear You call us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, [we] take up the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. [May we] Stand therefore, having girded [our] waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod [our] feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which [we] will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And [help us] take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all saints [and sinners]” (Ephesians 6:11-18, NKJV)
Lord, as we pray this prayer, may every American voter in the coming presidential election give serious thought and prayer as to which of the two men running for this important responsibility of leading our nation is more capable of trusting God to help him lead America out of its darkness into the light of a new period. We pray for a time when republicans, democrats, and independents can seriously sing the song together, “God bless America,” when people are again safe on the streets, and when Christians are free to worship God according to their own convictions. May the atmosphere in every state in our nation be charged with the glorious sense of the presence of our Creator, whom we are to worship and obey. May God bless America! In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!
Note: In the prayer above, brackets are used to show the writer’s word changes from “you” to “we,” and “your” to “our,” and the additions of other words to the Scripture quoted.
Note: In the prayer above, brackets are used to show the writer’s word changes from “you” to “we,” and “your” to “our,” and the additions of other words to the Scripture quoted.
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