America is a great land in the midst of a great divide.
We are torn by war and politics and government intrusion into virtually every aspect of our lives. We are plagued by terrorism and a level of fiscal irresponsibility that threatens to drown our children and future generations in debt. Our families are disintegrating all around us, while the pop culture bombards our sons and daughters with pornography and messages of violence and hopelessness.
Can something -- anything -- be done to unite our nation, restore our families and heal our land?
II Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (NIV)
On May 3, millions of Americans across the land joined their voices in united prayer and praise as part of what has become a great American tradition: The National Day of Prayer. The message of this wonderful day is powerfully simple: If we who call ourselves believers will humble ourselves, pray, seek God's face and turn from our own personal ways of sin, then God promises to forgive us and to heal our land.
It starts with us -- the faithful. We can't point the real finger of blame at Hollywood, or the media, or the government, or even the terrorists -- the fault of our nation's condition is ours. But God promises to heal our wounds if we first practice what we preach.
I recently had the amazing blessing to attend a small women's prayer meeting led by Shirley Dobson, the chair of the National Day of Prayer. We prayed for many aspects of our country -- for our military, our leaders, the media, our families, our schools and our churches. Mrs. Dobson reminded us that in order to be heard, we must first key in on repentance. One of the speakers, Carol Bauer, explained the conditions for God's help. II Chronicles 7:14 is "crisp and concise. … it is written in covenant language of 'if … then.' It's a 'deal or no deal' contract."
God will forgive each of us as individuals and restore our nation to health ... if we follow the steps:
humble ourselves
pray
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