Praying for the Nation

This is from a newspaper article that I wrote for the Henderson Daily Dispatch on November 8, 2014.

Like many people my age, I have vivid memories of the events from the morning of September 11, 2001. Just ten days after those horrific attacks I got on a plane with my wife and children and moved to the Philippines. For the next 12 years we served there as missionaries, only returning to the US for short visits over the years. We kept up with the news and knew about things happening back here in our home country, but it wasn't the same as living here.

Last year we moved to North Carolina so that I could serve as the pastor at Harris Chapel and Salem United Methodist Churches. Soon after we arrived I began realize how much has changed in the USA during the past twelve years. I especially noticed how many people today feel that our country is going in the wrong direction. There seems to be a sense that America's best days are in the past. 

Are you also anxious about the state of the nation? Does the economic news concern you? Maybe you feel like the US is too mixed up with events in the Middle East? If so, let that worry and concern remind you to pray and place things in God's hands. Allow me to suggest some strategies for praying for this country:

1. Ask that all of this nation's citizens might see the truth. Even if you have excellent vision, there are many parts of life that you cannot see. There are powers and authorities at work in this world that most humans rarely notice. The problems that we see are just the tip of the iceberg, built on deeper issues that hide below the surface of what we can see. 

2. Pray that we will have the courage to turn away from sin. It is easy to blame our problems on poor economic policy or a lack of (or too much) regulation. Yes, good policy and laws are important. But as people of faith we recognize that sin is the root of our problems. Only by consciously repenting and turning away from our sins can we hope to turn a nation from wrong to right.

3. Pray that people of faith will pledge allegiance to Christ. God calls us to give our highest loyalty to Jesus. If we get too upset about the state of our country, maybe we are expecting too much from our government leaders. No national government can replace God's rule over our lives. Only Christ can save us from the sin and evil.

Sometimes it is hard to find the right words to pray. I find that it helps to use the prayers that others have written in the past. Here is a prayer for the nation from the United Methodist Hymnal. You may find it helpful to use in your own prayer times.

O God, keep our whole country under your protection. Wipe out sin from this land; lift it up from the depth of sorrow, O Lord, our shining light. Save us from deep grief and misfortune, Lord of all nations. Bless us with your wisdom, so that the poor may not be oppressed and the rich may not be oppressors. Make this a nation having no ruler except God, a nation having no authority but that of Christ. Amen.