Prayer is powerful and amazing. We know that our Heavenly Father can and will answer our prayers; we just don’t always know how. There is an old saying that goes, “Be careful what you pray for because you might just get it.” Of course, that is referring to the fact that our desired answer to a prayer may not align with God’s. It also means that God’s way is right because it will be for the best.
Think about some prayers you have prayed. Did you have a preconceived answer or result in your mind as presented your plea before God? It’s common. We know how we want prayers to be answered, however, God’s superior wisdom has a better answer, even though we may not see it at first, or even for a while.
One prayer that has been prevalent in our country, especially over the past 20 years, is for God to turn our country back to Him. This is a noble prayer and it something that this country needs more than anything else! Our country is based on religious freedom. In reality, people came to the New World so that they could worship God how they wanted. They did not want government telling them how they were allowed to worship. Our founding fathers established a government based on Christian values. Just look at the important documents and some of the quotes from those wise and respected men. They understood that without God’s influence this country would never survive.
Now, look at where we are today. Government has made concentrated efforts to push the influence of God into the cracks and crevices of society. The results of defying God and His word are obvious. Our country is a mess. Our government is displaying ignorance and incompetence from the federal level down to the local level because they have forgotten they are servants of the people and, more importantly, their authority is from God.
With all of that, we pray that our country turns back to God, and rightly so. The question is, are we ready and willing to accept the answer God gives us to that prayer? In his letter to the Roman church, Paul expressed his longing to visit them. He told them that he prayed that God would a way for him to visit Rome. God answered Paul’s prayer. Paul eventually made it to Rome, as a prisoner! In order to get to Rome Paul was falsely accused, wrongly beaten, unfairly tried, until finally appealing to Caesar to prove his innocence. Once he was on his way to Rome, the ship’s crew would not heed Paul’s advice and sailed on into a terrible storm. The ship was wrecked, and they had to swim to shore. Once on shore, while putting wood on a fire, a viper came out and attached itself to Paul’s hand. He eventually made it to Rome. I am sure Paul didn’t envision any of those things happening to him when he prayed that God would open a door for him to go to Rome. Once he got there, he continued to preach the gospel. Then good news even reached Caesar’s household.
In the Old Testament, particularly in the book of Judges, we see how God dealt with Israel when they needed to return to Him. God would send droughts, plagues, sickness, and oppressors to get the attention of His people. God knows that it takes drastic measures to get arrogant man to humble himself and turn to God. It was a continuing cycle. God would prosper His people. They would get lazy and apathetic and begin to think all that they had, and all their success was from themselves. They would begin to not look at God as so essential in their lives until God almost became an afterthought and they were immersed in paganistic culture. God would then send an enemy to conquer them. After a while, Israel would realize they needed God and would cry out to Him. God would send a judge to redeem Israel and set them free from their oppressors. Only for the cycle to begin once again (people don’t seem to learn very quickly).
So here we are today, watching our country fall apart because so many have turned their back on God. A country founded on His morals and principals not asking for His guidance is asking for trouble. We, His children, are praying fervently that we as a country can once again be a Christian nation. But allow me to ask again, are you ready for the answer to that prayer?
Read Roman 1:1-17