Warfare Wednesday

"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. ¹²We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 1:11-12

We really need to pray for our country!

This week I've started pre-reading some of Abigail's schoolbooks for the coming year. She'll be studying US History from the beginning to the Civil War, and as I'm getting into some of it, the Hand of God on so much that went on in this country is amazing! Yet here we are, hundreds of years later, and if those same people who worked so hard to get to America saw the same country today, I imagine they wouldn't recognize a thing.

And as the issue of healthcare reform continues to take center stage, it seems our country becomes more and more divided, with every passing minute. There is so much... bad stuff surrounding this reform, it's driving that divisive wedge deeper and deeper, and it's causing even the best of person to scream out in frustration and curse the opposition. Everyone is complaining, and if there's one thing I've come to realize over time is that complaining doesn't achieve anything. All it does is bring those negative feelings back to the surface over and over again. Every time I decide to complain about something to someone else, it stirs up those feelings of anger and hate and frustration- so if I repeat that over and over to people throughout my day, what is that doing to myself? It's filling my day with a constant reminder of anger and rage and frustration... not exactly a good frame of mind to be in.

So I've made a decision for myself- I'm not reading or listening to the debate and controversies surrounding the healthcare hoopla. Instead, I'm choosing to pray about it. There is no sense stirring myself up over and over in a negative way by going from headline to headline. Instead, I am choosing to pray for peace and for wise decisions. And for a release from the fear that this nation is gripped in.

Don't you feel that? Everyone is afraid right now! I hardly ever hear or take part in a conversation among neighbors where the economy is not being discussed, it has everyone in a vice grip, and everytime someone else decides to live by fear, the devil is rejoicing.

But God has a better way, God is not a God of fear and warmongering, He is a God of peace and understanding. When the election of 2008 was finally over, so many people thought our country would begin a long process of healing from the divisiveness that came out during the election. The devil clearly doesn't have any interest in healing or in unity. And so, it really comes down to this, it comes down to fervent prayer for our nations and leaders, because only God can heal the wounds that are running deeper and deeper. Only God can bring this country back together.

And perhaps the right man for the job has the office right now, only he doesn't know that he really is the one that God will use in a mighty way. And I pray just that. I pray that God will bless President Obama abundantly, that He will raise up Godly men and women to surround the President with prayers and with good counsel. I pray that the divisiveness in this nation ends now, and that we stop being a nation of fear and hate, but of love and acceptance. When President Obama ran for office, his slogan was "Change", and I confess with my spirit that it is indeed time for change, it's time for the Winds of Change to sweep across this land and heal the hurt and the discord, and bring us back together under the same notions of love and acceptance and freedom that this country was founded upon.

I also pray this morning that the citizens of this country will stop speaking poison into the air, and instead speak words of grace and words of encouragement to one another. I pray that the people of this country will truly be blessed "under one God" and be indivisible. Liberty and Justice will prevail, and the true beauty of this nation will not succumb to the evil that is trying to consume it. For the real beauty of the United States of America is her people. It's the people in this country that make this nation shine, and I pray that they will realize that Americans all over the world will speak in one voice- the voice of love for all.