Praying for the US

A call has gone out for believers worldwide to pray and fast for America. Those who have called for the fast have set apart April 30 this week through May 6. And the most fascinating thing about the call is this: it comes from Australia. Wise men and women across the globe realize that if the US fails in its unique global leadership role, the rest of the world will likely fall as well.

A year ago, in early April, I was minding my own business, just enjoying fellowship with the Lord, when He spoke something very clearly to my heart.

I posted what He showed me in a series last year, and I think it’s a good time to rerun it in preparation for the fast and during the time of prayer.

Before I do, however, I want to address an obstacle most of us face, not only when we reach out to the hurting people we meet every day, but also in living our day to day lives freely and unfiltered as generations of Americans have before us. This obstacle is the climate of “political correctness” in which we live. Another name for it would be “the fear of man.” It is that intense pressure that compels you to conform to the status quo, to not rock the boat, to avoid making anyone uncomfortable at all costs—especially if you long to inject Jesus or His Word into the conversation. The J.B. Phillips paraphrase of the New Testament describes this pressure from our “culture of correctness” as “the world around you squeezing you into its own mould” (see Romans 12:2, JBP). And, as the Apostle Paul urged, “Don’t let the world do that” (ibid).

The majority of believers are considerate and respectful to those around them; but due to our current climate, so many of us have become extremely cautious about what we say when it comes to our love for Jesus, morals, or biblical truth because we have been trained—steeped—in the consciousness of the new “right and wrong” in today’s culture. My witness might be “marred” if someone thought I had anything but acceptance toward societal standards and current trends, we may worry. Heaven forbid that someone would think I’m intolerant!

So here we are, in an age in which the power and wisdom of God are so desperately needed but are so defiantly “barricaded” or squelched. And since it is to this generation that we have been sent, we have a job to do—to boldly minister the power, wisdom, salt, and light of the gospel to all of them and to address the forces that seek to prevent this from happening.

All of us are called to be ministers of reconciliation (see 2 Corinthians 5:18), and all of us are called to stand firm against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (see Ephesians 6:12), praying for all men, for kings and all who are in authority (see 1 Timothy 2:1-2). Without prayer for all men, kings, and all who are in authority in conjunction with standing firm against all the strategies of the enemy, the ministry of winning men and women to God through Jesus Christ gets squeezed into a bland worldly mould, becoming a mere shadow of its original power.

I believe this is why God is leading so many of you to cry out to Him on behalf of the United States now. This nation has been wonderfully instrumental in sending out hope, help, and the gospel to people all around the globe throughout her history, and Satan hasn’t liked it one bit. Therefore, the enemy has planted a big bull’s eye on America as he strategizes how to squeeze this nation economically, culturally, politically, educationally, and militarily. His goal is to silence her spiritually, morally, and ethically, in order to render any ministry of reconciliation—whether a large operation or small—weak, fearful, tepid, ineffective, and eventually extinct.

And so, I asked God last year if I could share the prayer directive He gave me then, and I received the go-ahead. His instruction is simple and allows you the lee-way to proceed as you feel led. This is not a “V-line of geese” type of prayer where one leads and everyone else follows; such prayer has its place, but our current situation in this nation requires all hands on deck and around-the-clock readiness, each one alert to pray about whatever drops into his or her heart at any given moment. (It’s that critical—a small blip on your “radar” prompting you to pray as you go through your daily routine may change the course of history: it may thwart a massive attack; it may save millions of lives; it may correct a huge error of judgment on the part of national or world leaders in the nick of time.) Your prayer can be private, quiet, short and sweet; it can be corporate, impassioned, and of long duration. Whatever, God wants to use all of us to affect the United States of America in prayer, and He’s ready for us to pray those prayers on her behalf.

If God has an assignment for you and me in prayer for this nation, then doesn’t that signify that He wants to answer that prayer as well? It is my hope that you will be encouraged to pray bold prayers for the United States of America. I believe that He is not through with us yet. Obviously, the Australians don’t think He is. 🙂

Stay tuned,

Dorothy

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 29:11-14a