What Do We Do Now?
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee (Psalm 102:1).
I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication (Psalm 142:1). Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints (Ephesians 6;18).
Fundamental, Bible believing, Christ honoring churches through the years in America have had a powerful influence in preserving historic orthodoxy in our day. But has this been enough and has the church become so influenced by the world that it is too weak to hold back the onslaught of secularism (and now we should add) and socialism in our day? Does the body of Christ hold any responsibility for not saving the soul of America?
Looking back in history, Nazism in Germany did not just suddenly jump into the landscape and surprise the people. For Hitler to advance his evil in the country, he needed to brainwash the nation with lies first. Man had to be seen as nothing more but the product of heredity and environment and God had to be long forgotten. The people of Germany had greater allegiance to its government than it did to God.
Does any of this look or sound familiar? How many people has Satan duped into believing that man is simply the product of evolution? After all these years, evolution remains only a theory and yet many have bought Satan’s lie and see people as nothing more than a product of heredity and environment. It reveals just how good Satan is at blinding the minds of people. This view of mankind opened the door to murdering millions of innocent babies and many Christians involved themselves in these murders by voting for those who made it their agenda. That revealed the weakness of the church and its lack of influence resulting in a nation that has forgotten God.
The faith of the church in the 1950’s and 60’s was becoming increasingly complacent opening the door to all kinds of atrocities. Rock groups were suddenly the craze of the land, along with their lifestyles, and the nation accepted John Lennon’s notion that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Time Magazine reflected the theological mood of the nation in April of 1966 with a whole section entitled, “God is Dead!” The church should have immediately gotten on its knees and cried out to God but instead, some were canceling their prayer meetings and their Sunday Evening services. That number has greatly increased today. Many churches began preaching a social gospel instead of the Word of God and “Come as you are,” suddenly was popular. It wasn’t just a dress code but also a mindset.
So many sins have flourished because of the mindset change. Greed is rampant and our culture is becoming a moral cesspool. There is no longer any truth accepted since truth is now relative. II Timothy 3:1-5 is now a reality with people definitely being lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God and indeed, there is a form of godliness, but we deny the power of God and our culture now fully places its stamp of approval on many gods.
If there was ever a time when the people of God need to get on their knees and cry out to God, it is now. From one perspective, some think that this is the prelude to the Rapture of the Church and the Tribulation Period. However, Jesus said, Occupy till I come (Luke 19:13). This is not the time for resting. God is still on the throne and we need to put on the spiritual armor of Ephesians 6, fight the good fight of faith (I Timothy 6:12), and endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ (II Timothy 2:3) recognizing that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37; Mark 10:27).
If there is to be victory in our churches and another Great Awakening in our land, the battle must be fought on our knees. Prayer is asking God to do what we cannot do ourselves. We must pray that God opens our eyes to the actual condition of our land and to recognize what He is willing to do when we humble ourselves before Him.
In our churches in the past, we sang “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” Not only have we eliminated that hour in many of our churches, but surveys reveal that the average Christian spends roughly four minutes a day in prayer. That same survey indicated that pastors spend roughly 7½ minutes a day. This week, read through the Book of Acts and see what God did as the saints prayed. The very word “pray” is used in one form or another 32 times in the 28 chapters.
We need to ask ourselves if we really believe God hears and answers our prayers. Dr. Erwin Lutzer recently stated that most Christians fail to pray simply because they do not feel like it. You can be certain that this does not please God. In fact, it does not even come close to indicating that our desire is that His will be done.
No, this is not written as “Doom and Gloom,” but as a battle cry for God’s people to gather for the kind of prayer that was in Acts when the church was being formed and that was in America when our nation was being formed.
Note the following Prayer Promises:
- Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not (Jeremiah 33:3).
- For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for (Deuteronomy 4:7).
- And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear (Isaiah 65:24).
- Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Matthew 7:7).
- Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 18:19).
- And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it (John 14:13, 14).
- Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me (Psalm 50:14, 15).
Can you imagine what would happen if Christians all over America got on their knees and called upon God for our nation what could happen. Even better, Christians gathering together in homes to pray and calling for their churches to have old fashioned prayer meetings?
George Stiekes serves as a Lay Pastor at Bethany Bible Church in Hendersonville, NC. See here for a more complete bio of brother Stiekes extensive ministry. We republish his material by permission.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash