Thursday, April 15, 2010

I Had to post This

Hey Guys! I know I haven't posted on this blog since January (I have been posting on http://www.wearethrev.blogspot.com/ though) but when I read this I just had to post it. Someone fowarded this to me (usually I immediately erase all fowarded emails... I despise those 'chain emails!' Come'on you do too... just admit it.) Anyway, I've been fired-up lately about being a "true Follower of Christ" and almost all of my talks (or sermons if you're old school) for the last year have been about this subject. I received an email this week that was a prayer that Billy Graham had prayed for our Nation. Now if there is anyone in the "Christian world" that deserves respect, it's Billy Graham. This great man of God is 90 years old and has been in the ministry forever. In all the years of ministry he has never been involved in anything scandalous or inappropriate. Just a solid example of what it means to be a true Follower of Christ. Anyway, this is a prayer he prayed for our nation:

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'


When I read that prayer it reminded me that, for us as true Christ Followers, to just sit idly by and just let things happen is sin. We weren't called to just roll with the punches and let the "chips fall where they may" in our country. God called us to make a difference. And the first place is in prayer ( see II Chron. 7:14 and I Timothy 2:1). So, Lord forgive me for not praying for my country enough. Forgive me for not being willing to spend as much time praying for my government as I do in criticizing them (although they are an easy target. lol! jk.). Let us all not be found guilty in underestimating the power of prayer.

On His Knees,

Jim