Thoughts on why we should pray for America (Today is National Day of Prayer)

As we think of this day we need to ask – why?
Why do we pray in this way?
2 reasons – we love God and we love people.
Jesus – the greatest commandment

love the Lord your god w. all your heart, soul, and mind.

In prayer, we strengthen these ties of love that we have with God. Just like regular communication strengthens the human relationships we have. You and your spouse will not grow closer to one another if you never speak to one another – in fact, that’s how we punish others – I’m never speaking to her/him again!
But, Because we love God, we want to speak to him, we want to hear him – we want to be in his presence.

The second reason we gather is we love people – Jesus said the second is like the first – love your neighbor as yourself.
We pray for America – because America is made up of people – people that God loves and longs to be in a relationship with.
There is not a human being alive in this country that God does not love – that means there is not a human being in this country that you should withhold your love from.
We pray for America because America is made up of people that God loves.
This is a critical moment in the history of this country – all indicators point to the fact that we are likely entering into a time of a massive economic downturn –
 But – this bad news can also be seen as good news because the entry into the kingdom of God happens when people are poor in spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The uncertainty we are in – the fear, the anxiety – this is leading people to be poor in spirit – meaning people all across this country are letting go of the illusion of self-sufficiency and are perhaps for the first time in their lives feeling inside of themselves a desperate need for someone big enough, strong enough and loving enough to carry them through this.
Thank God, we know who that someone is – so let us pray that America will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the lord.

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