On Tuesday, over 8,000 men, women, and children gathered on the lawn in the front of the state capitol in Lansing to pray for our nation. Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, has been leading these prayer rallies at each state capitol, drawing thousands of people in each state in a call to repentance, prayer, and engagement. Graham’s purpose has not been to advocate or endorse any particular candidate, but rather to call evangelicals to adopt that three point action plan during this election year. Indeed, it’s a call to action that ought to be a continual lifestyle.
As a nation, we have much for which to repent. Our society seems to be looking for new and creative ways to sin, and our government seems to be bending over backwards to not only allow these, but to celebrate them. For instance, the Pentagon recently announced that it would be paying for gender reassignment surgeries for active duty servicemen and women, which could run the military as much as $8.4 million per year. Speaking of the military, all combat roles were opened to women at the end of last year, a needless move that will have serious repercussions for years to come. Abortion continues to be the number one cause of death in our nation, with an estimated 954,000 babies killed in 2014 alone. In New York, there is one abortion for every 2.3 live births. Pornography generates multi-billions of dollars in the US alone (global estimates put it in the range of $50 billion annually, which is greater than the GDP of 96 of the world’s approximately 196 nations), and its availability – especially to minors – is heartbreaking. Despite decades of what seemed to be advancement, the racial divide in our nation remains as tense as it ever was, with the flames being stoked by people on all sides. There is much for us to confess to our loving and merciful God.
As a church, we must be driven to our knees in prayer, but that prayer must be both individual as well as corporate. We are often very good about asking God for His intervention on our own behalf and on the behalf of those close to us for everything from jobs to health to safety while traveling, and these are all very good things for which we should pray. But how much time are we spending in prayer for our nation’s leaders? Our state’s leaders? Our local municipality’s leaders? How much do we pray for those of the opposing political party, especially those whom we really, really dislike? I know I’m stepping on toes at this point, and since I am, I might as well continue to do so. How much time do we spend in corporate prayer through the week? Yes, we pray together on Sunday morning, but what about our Wednesday evening prayer service? How often do we allow any- and everything else to keep us away? “I’ve had a long day at work…I don’t have any other time to spend with my family…I don’t want others to know I’m really struggling…I tried it a few times but didn’t like it…” The number of excuses for not being involved in corporate prayer are myriad, but ultimately, it comes down to priority.
Finally, we as individuals must be ready to engage our culture with the Gospel, including in the halls of government. Many of us might think that we could not possibly run and win any elected office, or that we do not want to go through what you have to go through to get elected. We then complain that the only people who are in elected office are those who shouldn’t be there, despite the fact that the only reason those who should aren’t there is because they have decided they can’t. Lately, we’ve discussed the horrific decisions of the Michigan state Board of Education and how many local boards will simply adopt what they recommended in order to not face any potential problems. How different that would be were our local boards of education filled with Spirit-filled believers! Think of how different city councils and county commissions would look with Christ-centered believers filling their ranks. Repent, pray, engage…just something to think about…
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