A Prayer for a Divided Nation

In some ways it seems as though the United States of America is unraveling before our very eyes. Yet this is a nation that was built on Judeo-Christian principles.

Our first president, George Washington, made this statement: “To the distinguished character of Patriot it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.”

The very liberty we have to express our feelings and declare our rights was given to us because we built this nation on the foundation of a belief in God. But this foundation has eroded.

There was a time in our nation when we had the Ten Commandments on the wall of every classroom. But now we’ve removed them and have disregarded them. Now we’re seeing the effects of it, because when you sow the wind, as the Bible says, you’ll reap the whirlwind (see Hosea 8:7).

The Bible also tells us that “godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34 NLT).

Our nation was born out of the soil of revival. George Whitefield was an evangelist from England who came to the colonies and preached the gospel. Thousands of people believed, and it was in the wake of this revival that our nation was formed.

I think if we’re going to continue as a nation, then we as a nation need to return to a spiritual awakening. Simply put, we need to return to God.

We have a choice as a nation: judgment or revival. Judgment will come to every nation of the world, including ours. But I’m praying that God will postpone it a little longer—and that we will see at least one more spiritual awakening.

Peter Marshall, a chaplain to the US Senate, made this statement in 1947: “The choice before us is plain: Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or disintegration.”

What, then, is the future of our country? Are we doomed to go in the way of so many other nations? Will America end up on the ash heap of history? Or, are our greatest days still ahead?

No one can say with any certainty what the future of America will be. But I will say this. It’s worth noting there is no clear passage of Scripture that identifies the superpower on earth today, the United States of America, in the last-days scenario.

It makes me wonder where we are. The greatest nation on earth today is conspicuous in her absence from the world stage during the end times. I know this much: No country lasts forever. Rome, for example, was once the reigning superpower on the face of the earth. It had the most powerful military anywhere. But before Rome collapsed externally, she collapsed internally.

I think we would do well to look at the soul of our country right now. Of course, I’m for a strong military, because we need to take seriously any threats from foreign nations. But having said that, what about an internal collapse?

Historian Will Durant had this observation about the fall of Rome: “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within. The essential causes of Rome’s decline lay in her people, her morals. . . .”

I thank God for our nation and the freedom we enjoy. I thank Him for the opportunity to worship Him openly, to proclaim the gospel, and to teach His Word.

But we have strayed dramatically from the original vision of our Founding Fathers that produced this wonderful nation we call the United States of America. What once was freedom of religion seems to have become freedom from religion.

Our country has succeeded in getting God out of our schools, out of our workplaces, out of our sporting events, and out of our public places.

We hear people in America today saying, in effect, “We don’t want to live by those standards anymore. We want to live by moral relativism, so we can all choose our own truths.”

But here’s what we need to remember: The freedom we enjoy is built on the foundation of absolute truth. And when you remove that foundation, this freedom can actually turn into anarchy.

America needs divine intervention. We need God’s help. After the horrific tragedy of 9/11, I remember how so many Americans turned back to God.

I remember the prayer vigils on street corners and the members of Congress spontaneously breaking into “God Bless America” on the steps of the Capitol. I remember how churches were filled on the Sunday after 9/11. People were saying, “What do we do?”

So today do we have any hope for America?

I think the answer is a resounding yes. In the Old Testament book of Jonah, we see that God turned an entire nation around. Nineveh was one of the most wicked places on earth, renowned for its violence and cruelty.

And despite a pretty weak message from the prophet Jonah, the people turned to the Lord en masse and repented of their sin. As a result, God spared them and extended their days.

Could the Lord do that for America? I believe that He could.

When we look at the problems in our nation today, we may point to various individuals. But I want you to notice where God points when a nation breaks down spiritually and morally.

He says, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV).

As one historian noted, there has never been such a thing in history as a prayerless revival. We need to pray and seek God’s face.

My prayer is that we would continue to see our need for God. May God help us to turn back to Him, to the God who has given us the Bible, to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to the God who loved us so much that He sent His son, Jesus Christ.

May we turn to the true and living God. And may God send a spiritual awakening to the United States of America.

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Learn more about Pastor Greg Laurie.

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This article was originally published at WND.com.