Sunday, April 28, 2013

Pray for America


       In His name the nations will put their hope. – Matthew 12:21 (NIV)
      
       If we need anything now, at this point in history, it’s hope.
       But what, exactly, is hope? And where can we find it?
       Hope is the desire for something to happen, “the feeling that what is wanted can be had and that things will turn out for the best” (Dictionary.com).
       World and national events only spur the dwindling of hope. Culture and courts work to squash the way to it.
       Yet without hope, we have no incentive to live, really live, the way God intended us to. We merely exist, plodding from one moment to the next, day after day.
       This is not what God wants for us! His desire is for each of us to experience abundant life—life full of hope. So He sent His Son to give it to us.
       “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy,” Jesus said. “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV). Note this verse does not say Jesus came to give us an abundance of things, as some like to interpret this verse. Jesus said abundant life. There’s a difference.
       What does life in all its fullness look like to you?
       I see a life full of joy, laughter and love. I see enduring faith that gives birth to undying hope.
       What can steal hope? Simply a look at the world around us.
       What can restore hope? Faith in God.
       Because I have faith, I can pray, believing that He hears and answers: “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Psalm 5:3).
       Waiting in expectation after presenting my requests to God – now, that’s hope!
       Hope is the theme for Thursday’s 62nd Annual National Day of Prayer (NDP): “In His name the nations will hope” (Matthew 12:21). Whose name? The One who promises us fullness of life.
       Why do we observe a national day of prayer?
       Because “the American people continue to be plagued with challenges that defy simple answers,” says NDP Task Force Chairman Shirley Dobson, wife of Family Talk founder Dr. James Dobson.
       Those challenges include “continued economic insecurity, vast healthcare reform, and countless challenges to our constitutional rights.”
       So folks in every city, town, and village across the nation will gather to pray for our country. They’ll pray for the government (national, state, local), the church, those in the military and their families, the family, education, the media and business. They’ll pray for wisdom, guidance, discernment, protection, strength, courage, healing, relationships, core values, honesty, integrity, provision, and divine intervention.
       There is hope for America!
       Says Dobson: “Our hope lies in humbly seeking the Almighty’s guidance, protection, and blessing – not only on the National Day of Prayer, but throughout the year.”
   
       Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD (Psalm 33:12). God, bless America! Amen.


Special-Tea: Read Psalms 1, 91
     
 For more information on the National Day of Prayer and how to pray for our country, visit the NDP website at http://commit2pray.com/50-day-prayer-calendar/
      


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