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.
⇒ There is the picture of a friend called in to help a person who is troubled or distressed or confused.
⇒ There is the picture of a commander called in to help a discouraged and dispirited army.
⇒ There is the picture of a lawyer, an advocate called in to help a defendant who needs his case pleaded.
There is no one word that can adequately translate paracletos. The word that probably comes closest is simply helper.
Sin causes the believer to be distressed and confused, discouraged and dispirited.
Sin separates the believer from God and makes him guilty of transgression and worthy of condemnation and punishment.
But Jesus Christ is the believer's Advocate.
1 John 2:1….."We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
So the first thing we can do to ensure our prayers are answered is to make sure we are saved by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. We can have confidence that God hears our prayer if we ask according to His will
This is where most of us get into trouble!!!
We pray according to what we want…not what His will is!!!!
Lord…
Let me have that new Cadillac…vs…I need transportation
Let this loan on this 4000 sq. ft. house go thru…vs…let me live where you want me to!
Let that woman I’m dating fall for me…vs…Lord if this is the one you have for me.
Let me get this job…vs…Lord put me where you want me.
God has revealed His will in His Word.
His will for us includes all the great things of life. Why do we fail to trust God for the blessings he can give?
⇒ It is the will of God for us to experience the fruit of the spirit.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).
⇒ It is the will of God for us to have the provisions and necessities of life.
⇒ It is the will of God for us to be protected and delivered through all the trials and temptations of life.
⇒ It is the will of God for us to be delivered from sin, death, condemnation, and the fear of death.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).
"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15).
⇒ It is the will of God for us to be delivered through severe persecution and trouble, to be delivered into the very presence of God.
We could go on and on listing the glorious promises that God makes to us, promises that should fill our prayers as we face the various events and difficulties of life. The point is this: we can boldly know that God will hear us when we pray according to His will.
Listen to the example Jesus gave us in the Garden of Gethsemane…
Luke 22:41 - 43 (NKJV) 41And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43£Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
3. We can have confidence that God hears our prayers if we know that He hears.
We have to know that He hears if we wish to receive what we ask.
It is foolish to waste time asking God unless we believe that He will hear us.
We must have confidence in God, believe that He loves us and will do what He promises for us.
This is the declaration of Scripture time and again.
John 15:7 (NKJV) 7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you£ will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
Folks we need to understand…if we have unrepented sin in our life, we are not abiding in Him!!!
For us to abide in Him means we have to have our very being and dwelling in the Lord.
It means we must have a close, personal, relationship with Him…
Listen to what the Psalmist writes in Psalm 66:18
Psalms 66:18 - 20 (NKJV) 18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. 19 But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!
So what are we to do, when our sin nature gets the best of us???
1st , pray and ask God’s forgiveness…
1 John 1:9 (NKJV) 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2nd, Pray, knowing He will hear you, to the one who is capable of answering above and beyond our greatest expectation…
Ephesians 3:20 - 21 (NKJV) 20Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
CONCLUSION
Going forward today, we have seen that God has given us several promises in His Word concerning answers to our prayers…
So, as the National Day of Prayer approaches, what do we pray for our nation?
What is the most pressing need we have……REVIVAL…NATIONAL REVIVAL…not the salvation of thousands of souls…that will come…is God’s people will be revived…re stirred to service…
It’s not up to the lost people of this nation to fix its problems…it’s up to God’s people.
II Chronicles 7:14 gives us the prayer for our nation.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) 14if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
The Old and New Testaments proclaim that the hand of God’s judgment falls upon those who commit wickedness. But here the LORD is declaring to both Solomon and the people: His hand of judgment could be stopped (v.13). If the people’s sin aroused God’s judgment to cause drought or loss of crops or some plague among them, they could stop the judgment. They could be saved and delivered by taking four actions:
⇒ They must confess the LORD, be His people (v.14). He is the only living and true God, the only Savior and LORD of the universe. Therefore, they must become His followers, part of the people who are called by His name and bear witness to His Name.
⇒ They must humble themselves before the LORD (v.14). Instead of rebelling against Him, being obstinate and stubborn and insisting on living life as they wished, they must humble themselves to obey His commandments and to live as they should.
⇒ They must pray and seek His face for forgiveness. They must also seek deliverance from the chastisement and discipline of the oppressive judgment (v.14).
⇒ They must repent, turn away from their sinful behavior and turn back to the LORD.
In laying down these conditions for Solomon, the LORD was giving Him and the people a most wonderful promise. For if they met these four conditions, God would forgive their wicked ways and heal their land.
This is the prayer I believe we need…
1st, We need to be saved…
2nd, We need to ask that His Will be done…
3rd, We need to ask in repentance, knowing He hears us…
4th, We need to ask in a humble, seeking manner
