In 1887, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior:
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship…
“The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations have always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage.”
When I think about our own country in light of that sequence, I fear for us as a nation. With over 50% of the U.S. population on some kind of government assistance, we have become a nation that is characterized by dependence. It can’t be very long before our nation is plunged back into bondage, especially now that our loose fiscal policy has paralyzed our country’s leaders in Washington D.C.
Politically and economically, we are failing as a nation. But not only that, as a nation, we are failing morally, as well.
Way back in 1987, a prominent Catholic intellectual, political theorist, and professor at Fordham University, Dr. Francis Canavan, described what he saw happening in America morally. He wrote:
“Liberal democracy in a pluralistic society is an endless but fruitless search for the lowest common denominator that can serve as society's moral bond. The more pluralistic the sociey, however, the more difficult it is to find a common denominator. Let us try to explain the problem crudely and oversimply, but not entirely inaccurately.
“We did away with state churches in this country so that all the Protestants could feel at home in it. We de-Protestantized the country so that Catholics, too, could feel at home in it. We have dechristianized the country to make Jews feel welcome, and then dereligionized it so that atheists and agnostics may feel equally welcome.
“Now we are demoralizing the country so that deviants from accepted moral norms will not feel excluded. The lowest common denominator, we have discovered, is like the horizon, always approached but never reached.” (Francis Canavan, S.J., in Catholic Eye, Nov. 18, 1987; Christianity Today, Vol. 32, no. 3; www.PreachingToday.com)
Now, if that was true in 1986, how much more so today? Our country has become even more de-moralized in the 21st Century, and there seems to be no stopping it. I would say with Thomas Jefferson, “Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.”
But can we blame a society made up of fallen human beings. After all, that’s what sinners do. They sin!
John Stott, a British theologian and pastor, put it this way when he was speaking to an American audience some time ago. He said…
“You know what your own country is like. I'm a visitor, and I wouldn't presume to speak about America. But I know what Great Britain is like. I know something about the growing dishonesty, corruption, immorality, violence, pornography, the diminishing respect for human life, and the increase in abortion.
“Whose fault is it? Let me put it like this: if the house is dark at night, there is no sense in blaming the house. That's what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is, ‘Where is the light?’
“If meat goes bad, there is no sense in blaming the meat. That is what happens when the bacteria are allowed to breed unchecked. The question to ask is, ‘Where is the salt?’
If society becomes corrupt like a dark night or stinking fish, there's no sense in blaming society. That's what happens when fallen human society is left to itself and human evil is unrestrained and unchecked. The question to ask is ‘Where is the church?’ (John Stott, “Christians: Salt and Light,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 109; www.PreachingToday.com)
Where IS the church? And what can the church do to stem the tide of immorality and the judgment that is already upon us? We tried political power in the 70’s and the 80’s, but that didn’t last very long as we lost our own children to the spirit of the age.
Maybe it’s time that we as a church turn back to God again. It’s time for us as a church to get on our knees before the only One who can deliver us from ourselves. But how do you pray for a nation under judgment? How do you pray for a nation that has turned its back on God? How do you pray for a nation that is reaping the consequences of its own sin?
Well, for an answer to that question I look to the prophet Daniel, whose own nation was under God’s judgment. The Jewish nation was in captivity in Babylon, because they had turned their backs on God. And as Daniel sees their future, it shakes him up, because he sees more dark days ahead. Daniel 8 talks about Israel under Greek domination in the 2nd Century before Christ, and it brings Daniel to his knees in Daniel 9. How do you pray for a nation under judgment? I invite you to turn with me to Daniel 9, Daniel 9, where Daniel shows us how.
Daniel 9:1-2 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. (NIV)
Daniel is reading his Bible, and he comes across Jeremiah 25:11-12, which said that Judah would “serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” Daniel is now in his 67th year of captivity. God’s promised deliverance is only three years away, so Daniel is encouraged to pray
Daniel 9:3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. (NIV)
Daniel pleads with God, confident that God will keep His promise, and that’s the way we need to pray for our nation. We must…
PRAY WITH CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S WORD.
We must pray with the assurance that God will keep His promises to us. Now, I wish there was a word from God that He would deliver our nation in three years like Daniel had for his nation, but that’s not the case for us. Even so, there are still plenty of promises and principles from Scripture we can claim for our situation.
For example, when Abraham prayed for Sodom and Gomorrah, he asked the Lord, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” Then he asked the Lord to spare those cities for the sake of just a few righteous people (Genesis 18:16-33). Could we not ask God to spare our nation for the sake of His people that are still here?
Then I think of Jesus’ promise in John 15: If we “abide in Him”, we will bear “much fruit” (John 15:5). That is, as we live in daily dependence upon Christ, we will be able to influence others to follow Jesus; and in the context of John 15, be a positive witness in a hostile world. In light of that promise, could we not ask God to use us to turn things around in this nation as we touch one life at a time with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
In 2 Thessalonians 2, God’s Word says that the Holy Spirit through His church is a preserving influence in this world. That is, through the power of God’s Holy Spirit, we “hold back” the forces of evil from completely overrunning our culture (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7). Again, could we not ask God to use us in this way, to keep the spirit of anti-Christ from completely overtaking our country until Jesus comes for His church?
These are prayers God can and WILL answer, because they are in line with His Word. They are things He has already said He would do.
Robert Bellah, a sociologist who teaches at the University of California at Berkeley, is very interested in the influence of religion on the community. In an interview in Psychology Today he said, “We should not underestimate the significance of the small group of people who have a new vision of a just and gentle world. The quality of a culture may be changed when 2 percent of its people have a new vision.” (John Stott, “Christians: Salt and Light,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 109; www.PreachingToday.com)
What is the percentage of true followers of Christ in our country? I’ll bet it’s more than 2 percent, maybe not much more, but at least a little more than 2 percent. Well, since God promised to use His people to “hold back” the forces of evil and to “bear much fruit” to His glory, let’s pray with the assurance that God will keep His Word! It’s the only way to pray for a nation under judgment. 1st, Pray with confidence in God’s Word. Then 2nd…
PRAY CONFESSING OUR NATION’S SINS.
Humbly acknowledge before God that we deserve His judgment. On your knees before a Holy God, admit that we as a nation have rebelled against Him. That’s what Daniel does: Look at his prayer starting in verse 4
Daniel 9:4-6 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. (NIV)
Daniel does not sugar-coat their sin one bit! He describes it in all its horror, using every synonym he can, piling one upon another: “We have sinned…done wrong… been wicked…rebelled…turned away…[and] not listened.” Daniel doesn’t say, “Oops! We made a mistake, please excuse us.” Oh no! Daniel says, “Lord, we have purposefully and deliberately turned against you for which there is no excuse.”
My dear friends, that’s exactly what we need to say to our Holy Lord. We have sinned to the extreme, and we have sinned to our own embarrassment. Look at how Daniel prays in verse 7.
Daniel 9:7-8 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. (NIV)
Daniel confesses, “We are covered with shame, because we have sinned against you.” And the same thing could be said about our country: “We are covered with shame, because of our unfaithfulness.” Things that were once too shameful to talk about are now celebrated with “coming out” parties and parades. We draw a “red line in the sand” against chemical warfare, an atrocity so horrible that we think nobody would dare cross it; but when somebody does, we are powerless to act. Instead, we are dependent on Russia and China to work things out in Syria. Nobody respects us anymore, and we have become a laughing stock around the world.
We have sinned to the extreme. We have sinned to our own embarrassment, and we have sinned without excuse. There is no justification for our behavior, which deserves God’s severest penalty. That’s what Daniel says about his nation’s sins.
Daniel 9:9-14 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him. (NIV)
The Lord was right to judge us, because we deliberately disobeyed Him. There is no excuse for our behavior. That’s how Daniel confessed his nation’s sins, and that’s how we must confess our sins, as well, if we’re going to expect God to show us any mercy. We must admit before a Holy God that we have sinned to the extreme; we have sinned to our own embarrassment; and we have sinned without excuse.
Pastor Joe Wright put it well when he prayed before the Kansas House of Representatives on January 23, 1996. This is what he said:
“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
“We confess that: We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it a choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the airwaves with profanity and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
“Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free…” (National & International Religion Report, February 19, 1996)
Now, that prayer needs to be prayed again and again in every house across our land from my house to the state houses to the White House itself until God intervenes. It’s the only way to pray for a nation under judgment: 1st, We must pray with confidence in God’s Word; 2nd, We must pray confessing our nation’s sins; and finally, we must…
PRAY CALLING ON GOD’S MERCY.
We must beg for God’s forgiveness, appealing to His grace. That’s what Daniel does as he prays for his nation.
Daniel 9:15-19 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” (NIV)
Daniel appeals to God’s mercy and grace, because He knows his nation doesn’t deserve anything from God. And that’s the way we need to appeal to God for our country. “Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! Not because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.”
When Napoleon was emperor of France, a mother visited him on behalf of her condemned son. The emperor told her that the young man had committed the same offense twice, and justice demanded the death penalty.
“But sire,” she pleaded. “I don’t ask for justice – only for mercy.”
“He doesn’t deserve it,” said Napoleon.
“No, he doesn’t,” the mother admitted, “but it would not be MERCY if he deserved it.”
“You’re right!” the emperor quickly replied. “I’ll grant your request and show him mercy!” (Bible Illustrator, 7/1986.26)
Like that young man, we all come before the Ruler of the Universe deserving the death penalty. “The wages of sin is death.” “The soul that sins shall die.” And “all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The Bible is very clear about this. Justice demands that we die, so our only hope is to plead for mercy.
But how can a holy and just God show us mercy? It’s because Jesus, His Son, took the penalty of sin upon Himself. He died instead of us on the cross, suffering the death penalty in our place. Now, a just and holy God can show mercy, because the penalty for sin has been paid.
All we need to do is throw ourselves on His mercy. Don’t demand justice from God; plead for mercy. 1st, plead for mercy for yourself; and then, plead for mercy for our country.
It’s the only way to pray for a nation under judgment. 1st, pray with confidence in God’s Word. 2nd, pray confessing our nation’s sins. And 3rd, pray calling on God’s mercy.
In 1935, Blasio Kugosi, a schoolteacher in Rwanda, Central Africa, was deeply discouraged by the lack of life in the church and the powerlessness of his own experience. So he closed himself in for a week of prayer and fasting in his little cottage. He emerged a changed man. He confessed his sins to those he had wronged, including his wife and children. He proclaimed the gospel in the school where he taught, and revival broke out, resulting in students and teachers being saved. They were called abaka, meaning “people on fire.”
Shortly after that, Blasio was invited to Uganda to share with the Anglican Church there. As he called the leaders to repentance, the Holy Spirit descended again on that place, with similar results as in Rwanda. Several days later, Blasio died of fever.
His ministry lasted only a few weeks, but the revival fires sparked through his ministry swept throughout East Africa and continued for decades. Hundreds of thousands of lives were transformed through this mighty East African revival. It all began when one discouraged Christian began seeking God in desperate prayer. (Ajith Fernando, The NIV Application Commentary: Acts, Zondervan, 1998, p. 118; www.Preaching Today.com)
Imagine what God could do here in our own country if just a few of us discouraged Christians did the same.
