A Time of Prayer for Our Nation

By: Randy Foster, pastor of Maupin Ave Church, Salisbury, NC

In the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is exaltation such that every place the apostle Paul turned, he saw Christ exalted, risen indeed, as the Lord of the universe, and so we are to lift Christ before the world in this way. Paul says:

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:8-11.)

What we need today is “real-time-resurrection.” We need a vision for the power of God to be this in our lives. In the lines of the prayer for our country that follows, then let the Holy Spirit imprint on us the vision of the beauty of resurrected and exalted Christ, that we might paint a vision of the Gospel, which is the heart of faith, for Christ Jesus is altogether lovely. Come, Lord, come. Let’s pray:

Father God, may your Son Jesus Christ our Lord who suffered unjustly, was crucified for our sin, vindicated in resurrection and who reigns forever with You, be proclaimed loudly and boldly by we, His Church, as the only hope for mankind.

For all of us, each and everyone deserves judgment, but in Christ, we have received mercy and forgiveness. Again and again, you shock us with the compassion we can neither earn nor deserve. For while we are more sinful than we would ever dare know, we are, at the same time, more loved and accepted in you Jesus, than we might ever hope.

Indeed, how large is your heart, 0 God, toward us, even in our sin and our misery.

Jesus, you did not turn Your face from Jerusalem, instead, You wept for that city, that place, even those people who would kill You. Saying, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing?”

We, as a nation, are not worthy of such love, of such sacrifice, still, You are a merciful Father, “Slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”  Surely the wages of our sin is death, yet You have shown us grace in Your Cross Jesus, and power of the Holy Spirit in the resurrection. How extravagant then is it that “Christ Jesus you came into the world to save sinners?”

For now, we live in the evil of an unjust world, in the realm of the father of all lies, who knows no truth but only seeks to destroy our relationship with You Jesus. This is our home away from home, America, a place where we cherish her ideals but wish for the reality of so much more. There is so much here that we do love and cherish and give thanks for.

We love that we are all immigrants of one nation. We love the people that make our country a diverse nation. We remember that at Calvary the ground is completely level for all; there is no race, just a people created by You and made especially in Your image. A people whom You came to die for, that we might be saved so we can fulfill the purpose for which we were made to live for the glory of God.

For what then, in this day, in this time have You saved us? Help us Holy Spirit to have listening ears, with sound minds to hear, with hearts that will not be content to stand back but will be moved to share the Gospel.

May we, as Jeremiah was taught Lord by you, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you as an exile, (for indeed this is not our home, our citizenship is with you Jesus, but this is where you have us right now) and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” Jeremiah 29:7. Help us to pray often for our cities, our state, our country, and this world to seek the welfare of each other.

Father bring your comfort and peace to hearts that are broken; bring the mercy of repentance to those who do harm and the judgment of Your justice upon their evil. We can no longer stand by in silence and watch from a place of privilege. Give us wisdom O Lord of thought, speech, and action.

For those in power and authority whom You have placed over us, who cannot begin to comprehend the inhuman acts of a few of their peers, for these who place themselves in harm’s way for our protection and good, we pray that You might keep them and their families safe, provide for their needs, and allow them to come to you Jesus that they might know the patient endurance which You suffered for things You did not do.

As our hearts are bombarded daily with sorrow, 0 God, please keep us on our knees before Jesus our Savior and Lord.

Father give Your wisdom to our leaders and may they be transparent in speaking the truth in all things. Jesus shine your light on all darkness revealing wrong as only You can.

You have made us wonderfully beautifully diverse in Your own eye and so there is no such thing as the existence of race in Your sight. We are all Your creation, made in Your image humanity. Only the Gospel, the glory of Christ, His death, and His resurrection can banish the darkness of racism in our hearts. You have said that “a broken and contrite heart you will not despise,· so God we plead Your mercy over our nation, we plead Your healing on this virus that has brought sickness, death, the loss of jobs and devastation to our economy.

From all the tragedy of our cities may we not miss Your sovereignty and providence and therefore lose our heart and trust in You. Help us Holy Spirit to see Your power at work in the miracles of love, of reconciliation, of new-found accord with one another. Keep us grounded in Your Word and on our knees praying for peace that can only come from the kindness of Your hands Father, from Cavalry’s tree through the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we feel tossed about, may we know that You have got us, that our location is secure in You, in the very power of Your resurrection. We pray this in the name above all names, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen