A country in crisis? Ours!
Our country is in the middle of a crisis.
I suppose that is no surprise - countries are necessarily in the midst of a crisis at every turn. The only way for that NOT to be true is if the country was founded on some non-violent and non-reactionary principle and, other than Solomon, each of the countries in modern history have reflected their very violent past. So we might, with some sort of apathetic personal calm, walk through the day with a pulsating 'awareness' of the judgment our nation is under, but no personal need to address it, no driving force to speak or act on it - certainly no drive to bring others into the fray, to generate a call to action.
Instead we are left, with growing abortion rates, growing suicide rates, an acknowledge lack of spiritual leadership in the high-office(s) of our nation, and no apparent resolution to any of it in sight. We live, daily with an awareness that things aren't right, nor balanced, and we are taught, and teach one another, that our tool for this is prayer. Because, if you're a believing Christian (or to put it another way, if you believe in the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, that only way is through the Christ who is Jesus, and that the only possible source of hope is Jesus) then you have SEEN prayer changes yourself, change lives, help you become a better man/woman, and have seen God change you personally, change the organizations you’re a part of, act on your behalf (through the wisdom of Christ) to intercede on millions of lives of others.
You have seen people saved who you didn't think could be saved but prayed for anyway (because you had faith for it).
You have seen lives changed when you didn't think there was a way (and there wasn't, but God can do anything).
You have been touched by a testimony or eighty, given by someone who was clearly on the wrong track, but God renewed them.
You have seen God give back the years the locusts have eaten.
You are a walking miracle observer, a source of hope in a world of hurt, you have the potential to be a beacon to millions of lives through daily prayer, and you touch everyone's lives that you meet daily, even if you aren't aware of it.
So why do I target you, dear believer, who I dare not call Christian because the word has been defiled to mean whatever the listener thinks it should mean? Because unlike the gross majority of people on the planet, YOU can make a change.
Not because of how you die or where you were born,
not because of what you harvest or reap,
not because of who you have healed or who has hurt you or who you've hurt,
not because of how well you dance,
not because of when you laugh, or the people you weep for,
not because of what you've built,
nor when you've embraced someone who needed it,
not because of when you've been a part of a group,
nor when you've loved or hated anyone,
and especially not because of any kind of war you've personally fought in.
You can make a change, by faith, through prayer.
You may be thinking "I do pray" or "What do you mean, I pray xx hours a day" or even "Yes, God has been speaking to me about that and I have already started to do better".
If you can read this, you can pray more.
You can pray to begin the day.
You can pray to end or 'cap off' the day.
You can pray before meals.
You can pray before driving.
You can pray before eating, before shopping, before exercising, before working, before dressing, and before grooming.
However, if that is all you're doing, it isn't enough.
You need to pray in private, yes - this is a gift we can freely give to God ... a kind of sacrifice of praise or possibly a sacrifice of time.
You can also pray as part of a group.
If you have family, set aside time to pray communally.
If you have friends, set aside time to pray communally, if non-local, pray simultaneously on the same topics.
If you have believing acquaintances, set aside opportunities to pray together and do so communally.
If you have a pastor, visit your pastor regularly and pray with him or her or them.
If you have church elders, meet with THEM and visit them regularly.
We are a country under judgment - and the only way to stem the tide, as well as ensure our foci are all edifying foci, are to bring our sights aligned with God's will.
My call to action is simple:
Engage in an intentional sacrifice of worshipful praise.
Sing songs of thankfulness.
Write your own hymns and psalms, declaring your love for God.
Above all, approach God in spirit and in truth.
