Our Need For A National Day Of Prayer

Our Need For A National Day of Prayer

1 John 5:14-15 & II Chronicles 7:14

There have been several national days of prayer in the U.S. before the day was made official in 1952. The Continental Congress issued a day of prayer in 1775 to designate "a time for prayer in forming a new nation". During the Quasi-War with France, President John Adams declared May 9, 1798 as "a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer," during which citizens of all faiths were asked to pray "that our country may be protected from all the dangers which threaten it".

On April 17, 1952, President Harry S. Truman signed a bill proclaiming a National Day of Prayer must be declared by each following president at an appropriate date of his choice. In 1982 a National Prayer Committee formed to coordinate and implement a fixed commemorated day of prayer. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan amended the law decreeing that the National Day of Prayer should be held on the first Thursday of May. A claimed intention of the National Day of Prayer was that it would be a day when members of all faiths could pray together in their own way

This Thursday is the National Day of Prayer…a day in which many people of faith will turn to our God in Prayer and supplication for our nation…A nation that was at one time…Under God…but has since seemed to succumb to those who want to remove us from under God’s sheltering wing…

There are those who are attempting to rewrite our rich American History...and trounce upon the blessings of God that have so richly blessed our history…by denying the fact…FACT…that we were a nation born upon the principles of God…we are only one of two nations in History that were founded on Godly Principles…and THAT, and THAT ALONE…is the reason we have been so blessed!!!

I would like for you to see what our founding fathers had to say about their, and our, relationship with the Lord… (Show Founding Fathers PowerPoint) (Play “Let Freedom Ring” Start on third slide!)

It is apparent from the quotes of our founding fathers that prayer was of vital importance to them…as it should be with us today…Why???? Simply…God promises us…prayer works!!!”

An elderly lady was well-known for her faith and for her boldness in talking about it. She would stand on her front porch and shout "Praise the Lord!" Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her

Proclamations he would shout, ''There ain't no Lord!!'' Hard times set in on the elderly lady and she prayed for God to send her some assistance.. She stood on her porch and shouted ''Praise the Lord! God I need food. I am having a hard time. Please Lord, send me some groceries.'' The next morning the lady went out on her porch and noted a large bag of groceries and shouted, ''Praise the Lord!'' The neighbor jumped from

behind a bush and said, ''Ha..Ha. I told you there was no Lord. I bought those groceries. God didn't.''

The lady started jumping up and down and clapping her hands and saying, ''Praise the Lord, He not only sent me groceries but He made the devil pay for them! Praise the Lord!''

What if I told you this morning that we can be assured of answered prayer in our lives???

Would it make you have a tendancy to pray more?

Would it bolster your faith?

Let me assure you it is possible…

John the Apostle declares to us in his wonderful Epistle (Letter to the churches) that a believer can be assured of answered prayer.

1 John 5:14 - 15 (NKJV) 14Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

This is a great passage on prayer. The very basis of prayer is covered. Note exactly what is said.

1. We can have confidence that God hears our prayers if we are in Him, that is, in Christ.

We can approach God in Christ and in Christ alone.

In order for us to have the confidence, or assurance that our prayers will be answered, we must be IN CHRIST and Christ must be in US…in other words, we must have a personal, saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ…

Christ alone is the righteous One, the only perfect Person; therefore He alone has the right to stand before God.

Any person who wishes to approach God must come in the name of Jesus Christ.

1. Jesus Christ is our "Advocate" (paraklēton PWS: 68). The word "advocate" means someone who is called in to stand by the side of another. The purpose is to help in any way possible. (This is the word [parakletos] used of the Holy Spirit.