LivePrayerDaily Devotional for Monday November 8, 2004
God?s Reprieve for the United States
(Genesis 18:3; Exodus 32:14; Jonah 3:10)
Then he said, ?May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?? He answered, ?For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.? ? (Genesis 18:32 NIV)
GOD HEARD the cries of His children. For everyone who was part of the 3 million plus people worldwide we assembled through Liveprayer in the last few weeks to pray for the election, I have no doubt God heard and honored the prayers of His people. Thank you for being part of this great effort. PRAYER WORKS!!!
It has been interesting watching the post election coverage over the past couple of days, watching the talking heads trying to explain why President Bush won. Most touched on the real reason, but none really had the understanding to state it clearly. Let me do that here today. GOD?S PEOPLE PRAYED, GOD?S PEOPLE VOTED, AND GOD ANSWERED THE PRAYERS OF HIS PEOPLE. Period. The difference in this election was those who know Jesus Christ as their Savior prayed and voted. God has given the United States a reprieve and now we must take full advantage of this brief window of opportunity.
One of the points I have made time and time again over the past 5 years is the power of God?s people when they come together ?all in one accord.? When the people of God come together in one heart and one accord, you will always see the power of God move. GOD DOES HEAR AND RESPOND TO THE PRAYERS OF HIS PEOPLE! I share with people all the time that the power of Liveprayer, both here on the Internet and on the t.v. program on secular television, is the unseen army of prayer warriors that pray every day for me, the staff, and the needs of those who contact us for prayer. There is no power greater than when the people of God come together in prayer!!! The power of prayer is multiplied exponentially when God?s people are praying together!!!
That was evident earlier this year in Mel Gibson?s movie, The Passion of the Christ. It was the prayers and response of the Christian church that made that movie the worldwide success it became. While the political pundits can sit there and try to explain this past election, it simply boiled down to the fact that those people who know Christ as their Savior got serious, prayed and voted. While the United States is no longer a Christian nation in regard to the majority of the people being Christians, God still has a might army that when motivated can not only turn this nation upside down but the world as well.
I pray today that you realize what has happened. God has given this nation a reprieve. He has given us an opportunity to turn this nation back to God as well as to keep sharing with the rest of the world the hope and love of Christ. We have a short four-year window and we simply cannot waste one precious day. The natural response now is to sit back and take it easy, thinking we did our part. WRONG! All we did is earn from God an opportunity to try and turn this nation and the entire world back to Him. NOW is the time the real work has to begin. Just like it took each one of us working together to get this opportunity, it is going to take each one of us working together to take advantage of it.
The key issues here at home that MUST be dealt with are upholding God?s Holy Institution of Marriage, helping to stop the decay of God?s plan for the family which is the foundation of our society, getting the Federal Government out of the business of slaughtering innocent babies, and helping to share the hope and love of Christ with nearly two full generations of people that do not go to church, do not accept the Bible as God?s Word, and do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Globally, it continues to be evangelism. We have got to use our freedoms and resources to take Christ to the world while we still have this chance.
Please don?t see this victory as a time to stop working, but see it as a time to start working. I have shared many times how we cannot take the freedoms we have for granted since one day soon we will not have them. We must take full advantage of this time God has given us.
It was encouraging to see 11 out of 11 states by a wide margin uphold God?s definition of marriage which is between a man and a woman. Now is the time to work hard to pass the Constitutional Amendment so that in the future this definition can never be changed. We have a crisis in the family. Divorce is destroying families and the lives of children before they even have a chance to really live their life. We have got to get serious about helping to make strong families which is the foundation of our society. If God can part the Red Sea and cause the walls of Jericho to fall with some people simply shouting, then God can overturn Roe vs. Wade. This may be the last chance to ever make this happen and rather than making excuses why it can?t be done, we must seek God for the plan to get it done.
The reason is simple. If this nation wants God?s blessings, we have got to honor God with our lives. Just like I share with you about our personal lives, when we follow God there are blessings, when we rebel against God there are consequences. It is the same for our nation. God cannot and will not bless sin. How can we expect God to bless us when our Federal Govt. has legalized the murdering of millions of innocent babies each year? How can we expect God to bless us when we are making a mockery of His Holy Institution of Marriage? How can we expect God to bless us when we have perverted His plan for the family? This does not mean there will never be abortions, or that people of the same sex will stop living together in rebellion to God, or that there will not be any more divorce. But the nation can no longer endorse, accept, and support these acts of rebellion to our Creator if we truly want His blessings.
One of the greatest opportunities we have for this season is to freely and openly share the hope and love of Christ with the hurting and lost in this country and around the world. Evangelism MUST become a top priority in the church again. The ultimate answer for this nation and world is seeing people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
I love you and care about you so much. I believe in my heart God has heard the cries of His people over these many years, cries that were intensified to a fever pitch in this past year. Just as God honored Abraham?s request to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if 10 righteous were found, just as God heard the cries of Moses and turned his wrath from the people of Israel, just as God spared the people of Nineveh when they repented, I believe God has issued a reprieve for a short season and is giving His people the opportunity to turn back to Him.
Life is full of opportunities. I think back in my life, and I am sure you can think back on yours and lament the opportunities we missed. That is the purpose of this message today. I want you to clearly understand what has happened. God has given this nation a reprieve, a brief window of opportunity to turn back to Him. He is calling on His people to boldly lead this nation and world back to righteousness and Biblical values. Just like in our personal life where we must seize the opportunities we have along our journey because we never know when we may get another one, or if we will ever get another one, God?s people must seize this opportunity He has given us through His infinite grace and mercy.
I pray that you will take some time in the next few days and ask God how He can use you to make a difference. God has something for everyone to do and He wants to use YOUR life. Now is the time to lay it all on the line, to get motivated to do great things for God. We are all here to serve and glorify Him with our lives. God wants to do great things through YOUR life if you will completely surrender to Him. I pray that you will take time to get alone with God and let Him pour into you fresh vision, fresh strength for the battle ahead. GOD WANTS TO USE YOUR LIFE IN WAYS YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN USED BEFORE! The key is if you are willing to trust Him.
Let us pray for President Bush, for all of those who will lead this nation politically over the next 4 years. However, never forget that it is us, the people of God who He has called to lead this nation to righteousness and Biblical values. The enemy is upset to see God?s people rise up and on the move. The battle lines have been drawn. There is no turning back now. What we choose to do with this brief reprieve God has given to us over the coming months will determine the future of this nation, and whether there even will be a nation one day. May each one of us who call Christ Lord, step up to the plate and do our part in helping to turn this nation and world to the one and only King Jesus!!!