A CALL TO NATIONAL PRAYER

 A CALL TO NATIONAL PRAYER- Praying for our country!
 
 Our country is in trouble! Not only because of the shutdown or the impending raising of the debt limit… again… or the childish, abhorrent behavior of most of our leaders. Our country, the country I love, is sick! Our country has fallen into grave and serious sin! Most of us, if we would search the depth of our souls, know it! It stares us in the face from the tv set and the computer every day! Our ears are filled with it… just walk down the hall of almost any high school or listen to what is playing on ipods! I’m not a prude or a killjoy, I’m just decent!
 

This is a long post. Settle in…
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Is 5:20
 
This is not a political or social commentary today. I try to stay away from thing like that in my blog. 
Today I am calling for everyone who reads this post to prayer. Serious and authentic prayer for our beloved country…
Right now I am teaching the book of Daniel.
 
What an amazing book of God’s sovereignty and power and love!
Daniel was a young Jewish boy living in the nation Israel about 603 BC.  For years before Daniel’s birth, Israel had been under the leadership of some dreadful and immoral king. They had forgotten the calling God had for them.  They had also forgotten God’s law. Now that was a very bad thing for so goes the king, so goes the nation. Soon the whole kingdom had forgotten God’s law and Him!
 
You see…God had chosen, from all the people groups in the world, the Jews to be HIS representatives on earth. HE had  given them the responsibility of showing the world who HE was so the world could know and believe in Him and Him alone!
 
When the Jewish nation would follow God’s laws, God would bless them abundantly! And the whole world would wonder… Who is the God of the Jews… He is so good to these people, and they are abundantly blessed far above all the people on the earth. And through these blessings from God and the Jewish nations love and devotion to God all the people of the world could know and believe in the one true God!
 
But when the Jewish people were disobedient to God’s word and they would  sin, God would judge their disobedience and bring curses upon them. Not because He is a mean or hateful God, but He needed His people, the Jews, to represent Him and not dishonor Him. He would bring punishments upon them so that they would remember who they were and the call God had on their collective lives. He would put the pressure of curses upon them so the Jewish people would repent (turn back to God) and keep his commandments and be that beacon of light in the dark world once again!
 
God had warned the Jews to turn back to Him through the prophets for over 150 years. But they were stubborn and wanted their own way. So God brought judgement on them through the nation of Babylon.
 
Babylon, a rising and great power in the region, took the Jewish nation captive and totally destroyed it and their capital Jerusalem and God’s sanctuary, the Holy Temple.
 
This was the ultimate curse! Destruction of their nation. They had become the curse itself! 
But God is never without mercy. One of the last kings to reign before the Babylonian captivity was Josiah. During his reign, God’s law was reinstated and the people repented. He was a good king and loved God and obeyed his law. A great national revival occurred. Remember, so goes the king so goes the nation.
 
Daniel, who was living during the time of the reign of Josiah, was taken captive and sent to the idol worshipping country of  Babylon with a strong foundation of the law and great belief.
Many trials and glories came upon Daniel when he was in captivity, but he always remained faithful to God. Remember the lion’s den (Daniel chapter 6)?
 
When Daniel was an old man, still living in Baylon but now under the rule of Medo-Persia, he opened the book of the prophet Jeremiah and saw something astonishing!
As he read he began to realize that God’s punishment of captivity was almost over. God had promised the Jews they would return to their own country.
This greatly troubled Daniel. The Jews had been sent into captivity for their disobedience to God.
And now the judgement was over and they were going to go back to Israel with much of the same spirit of disobedience that God had punished them for in the first place!
 
 
Daniel’s prayer in chapter 9 is an authentic picture of the character of God and the state of the Jewish people at that time. I am overwhelmed by Daniel’s truthfulness, transparency, and humility! 
Although Daniel was called “highly esteemed” by God, He humbled himself before God and prayed for Israel. In his prayers, he included himself in Israel’s corporate sin and abject disobedience! (I know this is long, but PLEASE read it)
 
Daniel says…
 
Daniel makes no excuses in his prayer… no sugar coating… no pointing the finger at others. He was real and authentic and repentant! 
 
Read the words of Daniel… let it touch your heart!
(I know it is long, but it it important)
 
“Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Mosesthe servant of God, for we have sinned against Him (God). “Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done [anything] like what was done to Jerusalem. “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. “Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.
 
Authentic prayer. 
Daniel poured his heart out to God! He was overcome with grief, sin guilt, and shame! He fasted and dressed in sackcloth, a sign of great mourning and sorrow.
 
I think we need that in this time too! We need to take a lesson from Daniel!
 
Our country is sick with sin and disgrace! We are blessed to live in an age under the grace (undeserved blessings) and not under the Law. We can give thanks and praise to Jesus for that!
 
We need to pray… to talk to God. We need to humble ourselves and cry out, confessing our nation’s sin and disobedience!
 
 
IF 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!
2 Chronicals 7:14
 
This verse was meant for the nation Israel. It was an assurance that God would hear them if they would stop sinning and repent. If they would seek hard after God and His ways. God promised them that He would forgive them and heal their land!
 
We too, those who are called by the name of Jesus, need to stop following the sinning ways of this world. We need to humble ourselves before God. We need to corporately and personally seek God’s face… asking Him for forgiveness. We need to be strong and purposeful disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
God is the lover of our souls! He loves us far above our comprehension.
 
Let’s turn to him in humility and confess our nation’s sins. Lay it all out there! Sugar coat nothing!
 
Ask God to help you follow hard after Him! Ask Him to help you be a faithful disciple of our Lord Jesus!
 
Our land is need of healing! 
 
Let’s us turn to the Great Healer… God!
 
 This is not a political statement. Please do not comment on anything political here.
Please leave a prayer for our country instead!
Thank you.
 
This week’s memorization verse: 
IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAY, THEN I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN, WILL FORGIVE THEIR SINS, AND FORGIVE THEIR LAND.  2 Chronicals  7:14

 

 

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52 Comments

  1. All of these things have been heavy on my heart for a long time now. It seems there is no place to turn our eyes where we can escape the moral decay and cultural rot in our land. It literally feels like the foundations of this country are being ripped apart while our so-called leaders squabble and posture and pander and preen. No, this is not a political comment. I don’t even begin to know who to vote for in the upcoming election. I join you in praying for our country to repent and remember or discover for the first time who is The true and mighty and gracious God. . And, truly it must begin with individuals having the courage to speak out and push back as you have done. Thank you.

  2. Thank you, Yvonne, for such true words from our scriptures. Beautiful post!
    I join you, and Daniel, in praying to God for our cities, the people called by His name, and myself, to humble ourselves, seek forgiveness from our wickedness, and to be healed.

  3. Nancy Marino says:

    Our Father, on my face I praise you and thank you for the many unexpected and undeserved blessings you have and continue to bestow upon me. Help me to continue on the path where you have directed my feet to be… and thank you for showing me your way. Let me lead by example a you have done. Please accept my humble words as I beg you to put our once and still great land along side your nation of Israel so that we may care for your people as you would have us do. Give great strength to our Christian warriors and leaders lest they grow weary of fighting a world gone cold. May we as Christians speak your word as You would have us do. In the name of our gentle Jesus. Amen

    1. Yes, Lord, help our nation to turn back to You and help us as Your Children, to lead the way through our lives, word and deed.
      You gave your ALL for us and are still the great I AM, and are in control. Thank you, Father. for your love and your grace and mercies! In Jesus name, Amen.

  4. Teresa Farthing says:

    Thank you for sharing, Yvonne. I have had this verse on my mind recently. Do you remember the singing group called the “Imperials”? They wrote a beautiful song using this verse. I find myself singing it from time to time. I agree that our nation is under attack by the evil one. I join you in praying for healing of our great nation!
    I enjoy your blog so much. Keep up the good work!

  5. Vicki Lay says:

    This morning, Yvonne, I thank God for your boldness and in speaking truth. As a Christian, I pray for the Holy boldness and protection “To Be Silent No More”. I pray that God will raise up another Josiah to lead this nation. I pray God’s continued mercy on this land and that He will not take His hand away and His Judgment befall us. If we read the end of the story, however, our only Hope is in Jesus. He will rescue us taking us out of this miry pit. It just might be sooner than we think. We need to prepare our hearts for His coming.

  6. With love and prayers I hold your entire country in my heart. May God’s healing light shine brightly in all your souls.

  7. Ruth Wiwchar says:

    God sent Jesus not to condemn the world but to offer everlasting peace. I pray that Jesus’s care and compassion for all people becomes the model for all people in your country and that his model of inclusiveness be lifted up as the only path to healing. May God’s infinite grace be showered upon you as you journey through this dark time in your history.

  8. Lord I am a sinner. I have sinned along with this country of ours. I ask for forgiveness. I know we can all start anew. I pray you make me bold as I walk with you. I pray our country not fail you. I n your name amen.

  9. Marilyn Gray says:

    Wonderful way to start my day! I have been thinking about this for a few months now and I certainly agree with you! In my thoughts I have repeated those words to myself so many times…”if my people who are called by my name”….. We need to fall on our knees and pray without ceasing, not just for our country, but for mankind!

    I was too timid (maybe afraid)to utter it in public. Thank you for being bold enough, like Daniel, to broadcast it…we all need to hear this and pray!

    Maybe it would be a good idea if we agreed to all pray at the same time each day, kinda like lambasting Heaven! How about noon? I will spread the word. Thank you so much again for your boldness and your faithfulness!

  10. Marilyn Gray says:

    I love your flag, would it be ok to copy that onto social media with a plea for prayer? I will wait for your answer. Thanks again!

  11. I am praying in agreement with you. This has been on my heart & mind for a long time. There are so many things that I could say right now about this subject. How the world has turned God’s words around to justify their own wants & desires is just one part of it. We need to pray fervently for our world, for our country, for those that need to see Jesus is the ONLY way.

    *On a side note. Your post ministered to me in many ways this morning. I am going through something with my health. God revealed Daniel to me over & over about 1 1/2 months ago when it began. I am scheduled for surgery tomorrow & today, of all days it shows up in your post. Thank you Lord for continuing to remind me of your mercy, grace & love! I love how He ministers to us through others.

    1. It is wonderful how our Lord knows just what we need and his timing is perfect. I pray your surgery is successful and you will be healed by our Great Shepherd.

      1. Thank you Deborah! 🙂

  12. Good Morning Yvonne
    I read your post this morning and I agree with you however I have a question I am doing this with a open heart but don’t you think that what is happening in the world today that it is the fulfillment of prophesy of the end of times.
    Thank you for being a bold Christian women filled with His spirit.

    Godsend
    April

      1. Thank you Yvonee! 🙂

  13. Jamie cox says:

    Thank you so much for this reminder and your courage to say these things.

  14. Yvonne, this was a most needed post, we have a faithful God, prayers , believing and our faithfulness to God turning back to him is the only hope we have, for our nation to survive, I put my faith in God the father , his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirt, have a very Blessed Day and Thank You.

  15. Dear Father in Heaven, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob- our God, we cry out to You. Thank you for stirring in us your people, the conviction to humble ourselves. The drawing of your Holy Spirit to pray for forgiveness of my sins and the sins of America. And the understanding to know what each of our parts is in turning from our wicked ways. We cry out to You, O Lord, mercifully heal us and America. Reveal to each of us Lord, what we can’t see in ourselves and give us the grace and boldness to repent- turn- do what we need to do so that You will heal our land -America now. Father You’ve given us so much grace and so many blessings yet we as Your people in this nation have become lukewarm and hardened our hearts toward our sin and therefore You. We repent Lord! Please help us to be easily teachable and turn our hearts back to You and Your righteousness without the judgment we deserve. Father have mercy on us. We repent of our wickedness; the sins of judgment and hatred toward one another; for pride and not loving our neighbor as ourselves. We repent for ignoring our sin and the sins of this nation in fear, doubt and unbelief. Please forgive us Lord. We need Your help to turn from our wicked ways Father. Stir in us new revelation and Holy boldness to not be the silent majority but the one cry to You YHWH. Thank you for Your love, for freely giving us Your Son Jesus as our propetiation. Thank You that Your mercy is new each day in Jesus Name I pray, amen.

  16. Amen and Amen! A much needed post to call Christians into action,and pray for our country before it is too late! Thank you, Yvonne!

  17. Dear God, Please call to all Christians to look inside and see the strength that they have. Give them the ability to share this strength. Put upon their hearts the need to get involved, the need to fight back, the need to bring your name back into the comments of life. We can not sit by and just say, ” Oh my this is horrible”. We must put ourselves out there and speak, comment, vote. God said he would give his people one last chance to proclaim his name, to turn back to his face.. We ask that you give us that strength to do just that. Give us peace, give us joy, give us the ability to stand and be counted. AMEN

  18. Diane Amick says:

    Isn’t our Lord amazing? Our anthem at church this morning was “If My People” taken from Chronicles 7:14 noted in your message today. Like so many, I have no direction with our upcoming elections…..pray, pray, pray that our God will provide the miracle so desperately needed for leaders in our country. Noon each and every day it is. I will be praying with any and all that hear the call and need to act on it.

  19. Jane Powell says:

    Surely the last seven years spoken of in Daniel cannot be in the too distant future. Thank you for being a wonderful spokesperson for our God.
    In His grace, Jane

  20. Amen. God has called HIS people to repentance and prayer ….. The ball is in our court. We must do this for our children and grandchildren. I’m so grateful that you have used your voice in this media as a rallying cry for believers! God bless you, your family, and your ministry.

  21. Yvonne, the first paragraph matches our hearts but I could not avoid the fact that I was not thinking USA… but Brazil! Seems things are really hard in general!! tks for sharing, kisses ML

  22. Thank you Father God for welling up America with righteous indignation, keep this fire burning in all our hearts until we see your coming.
    Amen

  23. My heart has been troubled for my country for a long, long time. As the scripture you referenced so accurately states: Evil is now good and good is now evil. It seems we’re tittering on the brink of destruction. I am praying that something opens our eyes as a nation, and wakes us from the sleep of death. Thank you for reminding everyone that it’s time to pray.

  24. You are entitled to write whatever you want. Freedom of speech. I find this way too preachy to the point of being uncomfortable.
    God Bless.

  25. Awesome post!! Will be praying .

  26. I too join you in praying for our dear Lord to bless our families, countries and all the people in this world.
    May God help us.

  27. Jayne McLeod says:

    I shall keep on praying until the day we see your face Lord…I so enjoy studying Gods WORD along with you. Thank you.
    Jayne (Canada)

  28. Kathy Chandler says:

    Thank you Yvonne so much for this post! I have been greatly troubled by the state of our nation and sickened by the sin all around us every day. I pray with you and all the other Christians that God will have mercy on our land and continue to guide us and bless us. We area in desparate need of His forgiveness and compassion! God is our only hope ~ let’s all unite in daily prayer!

  29. Penny Palmer says:

    Daniel is so appropriate for our time. The Lord is near. I’m praying too.

  30. Donna Wisdom says:

    Thank you for this call to prayer. I believe God works mightily through prayer and I pray that God would open our eyes and the eyes of our leaders to see His truth and seek Him and His goodness to rescue us from the path of destruction we are currently on.

  31. Thank you so much!!! I read all of this and agree wholeheartedly. Our nation needs healing. We need to repent and be more obedient. thank you again..I will pray for all of us to repent.
    I love your site and love reading your spiritual posts …

  32. Thank you Yvonne for the courage to speak out in defense of God and our country. Somehow some of us have been “shamed” into silence. We are allowed and encouraged to speak openly about some very questionable topics but the words “Jesus” and “God” are now considered foul language and four letter words. How did this happen? In very tiny increments, I suppose. Apparently the tragedy of “911” destroyed the Twin Towers but now our entire country is in peril without any airplanes or obvious weapons. May God have mery on our wonderful and beloved country and all who are blessed enough to live here. My fervent prayers are with you, Yvonne. Thank you for your timely and much needed encouragement during this time of grief as we helplessly watch the death of our country. America has blessed many……May God now bless America.

  33. Unfortunately, it is all POLITICAL. I am not afraid to say it.

  34. Thank you Yvonne, YOU ARE THE ONLY BLOG TO SAY THIS!!! God bless you for your Courage and I agree with everything you said. WE must support Israel or we are done for. Israel is the apple of Gods eye . Love you for saying t
    his.

  35. This was wonderful… thank you! I, too, am teaching on the book of Daniel, so this immediately grabbed my attention. I love how God’s people seem to be on the same page, at the same time. He is wanting us to hear something!

  36. Thank you Yvonne for this courageous post! I pray always for revival of the people who say they are his…………..we have strayed so far from God. We have made idols of our entertainment, material things, our phones, sports, fame and celebrity, etc. We run to these things for comfort. We must repent from removing God from first place in our lives. He must again become first or we will be destroyed.

  37. Lord we humbly come before your Holy Throne and ask for your forgiveness and mercy. Our nation has taken You out of our homes, our schools, and yes even sadly some of our churches. We pray your Word will resonate in our very being (Psalm 91): Those who live in the shelter of You, the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This we declare of you LORD: You alone are our refuge, our place of safety; You are our God, and we are trusting in You. For You will rescue us from every trap and protect us from the fatal plague. You will shield us with your wings. You will shelter us with your feathers. Your faithful promises are our armor and protection. For You LORD have told us, “I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in my Name. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will satisfy them with long life and give them My salvation.” You and You alone are to be worshiped and we pray for your Holy Word to take its rightful place in our country as the ultimate authority and truth. For You Lord reign over all of Your creation and we give great thanks to take refuge in You and to make You, the Most High our shelter. Amen

  38. Many thanks for your Sunday posts. I pray for our country, our leaders and the leaders of all countries each night.

  39. Thanks you for this well thought and timely post. We need to hold ourselves accountable and turn back to God. We have enjoyed so much as a nation, only because of God’s grace. It is not a free ride. Thank you for your courage and conviction in sharing this, and I join you in prayong for our country.

  40. Heavenly Father, I come to you this morning in Prayer that you will take back our beautiful country, not only our country, but all countries, and for all of those in leadership of our Country, that their eyes, heart and minds will be receptive and hear our Prayers, in Jesus name….Amen.

  41. Thank you Yvonne for your boldness and for speaking the truth. As this has also been on my mind, I join with you and others in praying for this country. Jesus is our “only” hope!

  42. Praying much on this as well – for the U.S., for the nation of Israel, and for our whole world! Thank you for more encouragement on this topic – trusting our Holy God to bless us and lead us!

    From my Bible study notes this a.m. – perfect timing 🙂

    Do not put your trust in princes
    in mortal men who cannot save
    when their spirit departs they return to the ground
    on that very day their plans come to nothing
    BLESSED IS HE WHOSE HELP IS THE GOD OF JACOB
    WHOSE HOPE IS IN THE LORD HIS GOD
    THE MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
    THE SEA AND EVERYTHING IN THEM
    THE LORD WHO REMAINS FAITHFUL FOREVER

    Praying this for us all.
    Amen and AMEN

  43. I agree with You And Thank you for being Faithful to our Lord praying in Agreement with Daniel and yourself