Can you be the answer to somebody's prayer today?
God knows who our enemies are. God has a way of taking the powerful and humbling them. Every enemy of God shall bow down and their wisdom be turned to foolishness. When our enemies can no longer stand under the mighty hand of God, they too will cry out to God for help. According to his will, God can align every enemy of America and make them one allegiance with America.
Philippians 2:10, 11 says, "so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” In order for America to realize the true blessedness of our relationship with God, we must keep God first and walk in obedience to the commandments of God--which are to love God with all our might and our neighbor as our self (Matthew 22:37-40).
It is virtually impossible to cause harm to others if we keep these two great commandments. Love God. Love others. God answers prayer in response to our heartfelt needs because God loves us. If we love others, then we will do all that is within our power to help meet their needs. Love is not how we feel but what we do. The mandate to love is further extended to our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). If we only love those who love us, then we have not done anything great. America, God is not asking us to make alliance with our enemies, only to love them. As we continue to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior, show forth the love of God, and walk in obedience to the will of God individually and collectively as a nation, then God will answer prayers on our behalf by establishing the international alliances we need. The building of alliances is a spiritual work that will manifest itself physically at the appointed time.
Whether God answers our prayers directly or through others, it remains that God does answer prayer.
Prayer: Lord God, my ever present help in trouble, please help me to trust you to create the alliances I need in my life. Help me to keep faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior while I await the answers to my prayers. Amen.
For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Galatians 5:14, NLT).
What's motivating your actions?
When faced with frightening decisions to make, you need to do whatever you must do in love. Love has many beautiful qualities that you can use to gauge your actions: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Therefore, before you take that next step or make that next big decision, consider what the end result will be. If the end result does not produce any of the fruits of the Spirit, which are characteristics of love, and then you will probably regret that decision. If the end result is not something that you would be pleased with in your own life, then it is very likely that you are not showing the kind of love that you want to receive.
Prayer: Lord God, my ever present help in trouble, please help me to do whatever I must do in love. Help me to truly love my neighbor as myself. Amen.
Prayer for the Nation
O God of Hosts, Creator of heaven and earth,
Mother of the universe,[i]
Blessed be your glorious name
That is exalted above all blessing and praise.
You are the Lord, you alone.
You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens,
With all its starry hosts,
The earth and all that is in it,
The seas and all that is in them.
To all of them you give life.
The host of heaven worships you.[ii]
O great and awesome God,
Who keeps covenant and steadfast love
With those who love you
And keep your commandments.
We have not always done what we know is right;
We have often times been rebellious.
We have often times turned from your ways
And followed the ways of our own hearts.
We often times do not listen to
Your messengers who speak in your name,
Who pray on our behalf,
Who are often grieved because of our sins.[iii]
Righteousness is on your side,
O Lord, but this day
Open shame falls on us,
The people of America,
And the inhabitants of lands far and near.
Open shame, O Lord, falls on us,
Our leaders,
Our officials,
And our ancestors,
Because we have not walked in your ways.[iv]
O Creator,
Show us your mercy and forgiveness,
For we are a disobedient
And rebellious people.
We have turned aside,
Refusing to obey your voice.
But even in our waywardness
You have not been far from us.[v]
When we cried out to you
During times of war and famine,
From heaven you heard us
And with great compassion,
You delivered us.
It was you, Lord, who rescued us
From the hand of our enemy.
But as soon as we were at rest,
We again returned
To following our own ways.
Time and time again
You have rescued us
Out of difficult situations.
And each time
We have quickly forgotten
The source of our deliverance.[vi]
O Lord God of hosts
You are righteous
In everything you do.
Yet, we continue to disobey you.[vii]
You only require that
We live righteously and do justly,
That we love kindness and walk humbly.[viii]
O God,
We repent of our evil thoughts
And our rebellious ways.
Forgive us, I pray,
For we are covered with shame.
For many go hungry in America,
The land of plenty.
Many go homeless in America,
Many are without proper health care
In America,
Our children and elders
Are without love and comfort
One of the most compassionate
Nations in the world.
Millions are without jobs
One of the richest
And most industrialized
Deliver us, O God,
From our own ways.
Deliver us from all
Our unrighteousness.
Have mercy on us.
Forgive us for not acting swiftly in
Loosening the bonds of injustice,
For not breaking every yoke
And setting the oppressed free.
God, forgive us for not
Sharing our food with the hungry,
And for not
Giving shelter to the homeless.
Lord, we have even failed to cover the naked.
Nor have we been our neighbor's keeper.[ix]
Lord, we are ashamed for we have not
Loved each other as you have loved us.[x]
And
Forgive us God for polluting
And pillaging Mother Earth,
For not appreciating your wondrous works.[xi]
In all things Lord,
We know you will be just.
Once again, you will act faithfully
In delivering us
From political corruption,
From social injustices,
From economic hardships,
And from moral decay.[xii]
Now O God,
Creator of heaven and earth,
Mother of the universe,
Hear your servants' prayers
For your name sake.
O Lord, Look with favor on your people,
All the people of the world.
Give ear, O God, and hear.
Open your eyes and
See the needs of your people.
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.[xiii] Amen.
[i] I believe God to be the God of everything and every people. I also realize that no metaphor can adequately capture the full essence of God’s being. To this end, I address the deity as God, Creator, and Mother in an effort to touch a diverse group of people. See Fowler, “Postmodern Theologies and the Praxis of God,” (Draft-September, 1993). Fowler’s lecture on “The Praxis of God” on September 21, 1993 that drew from this essay greatly affirmed my belief that the old images of God are becoming obsolete, especially the patristic images.
[ii] Nehemiah 9:5b-6 paraphrased. (All paraphrases are a combination of the King James and the New Revised Standard Version. I have paraphrased in several instances.) This is the beginning of a prayer of confession; it continues through verse 37. The prayer is preceded by praises to God. I think it is appropriate to open any and all communications to God with praise, realizing that God is a universal God—a
cosmic God who is responsible for everything that is. In terms expressed by Sallie McFague, The Body of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), you might say that the universe is “the body of God,” which is intended as a “holistic metaphysic.” McFague uses “the organic model as a way of re-conceiving the relation of God and the world” (p. 81). She contends that the recognition and appreciation of the interrelatedness of everything in the world should help people act more responsibly. This motif will come up again later on in this prayer.
[iii] Daniel 9:4-6. Here Daniel is confessing the greatness of God and acknowledging the rebelliousness of the people in spite of warnings from the prophets. Even though people may recognize and acknowledge God for who God is, that does not mean that they are prepared to keep covenant with God and follow God’s commandments. See Fowler’s Weaving the New Creation (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991), page 102 for a definition of “covenant.” The covenant of love is between two parties, God and the people who love and obey God.
[iv] Based on Daniel 9:7-8. The moral condition of the people caused them to feel great shame in this passage. I wonder today if we feel great shame because of our immorality. In one of my first seminary group teaching session, we talked about being in solidarity with the poor. Could it be that we too feel great shame because as a society we have systematically neglected the poor and marginalized of the world?
[v] Daniel 9:9-11. In spite of our rebellion, I know God will continue to be merciful and forgiving if we confess our sins.
[vi] Nehemiah 9:27-28. The pattern of faithfulness and falling away is repeated often throughout the history of Israel. The same is true of people of God today. Have we not learned lessons from history? How long do we continue this game of Russian roulette with our salvation? How long will God be patient with a rebellious and unfaithful people? See Weaving the New Creation (Fowler, 1991, p. 136).
[vii] Daniel 9:14. I am careful to uphold the righteousness of God over and against the righteousness of humans. God’s righteousness is steadfast and holistic, whereas people tend to do right sometimes and only in some situations.
[viii] Amos 5:24, Micah 6:8. To do what is good and to hate evil seems like a simple task, but what is good and what is evil? In today’s pluralistic world people are seeking to know the ways of God. In his book, Uncommon Decency, Richard Mouw offers a way—civility—to begin dialogue that makes it possible for people of diverse backgrounds to ponder questions such as these.
[ix] Isaiah 58:6-7. In a discussion on liberation theology, I asked myself the question, “Who are the poor?” “Who are the marginalized?” The “oppressed” in this passage includes the children, the elders, the homosexuals, the bisexuals, women, African Americans, Native Americans, Latin Americans, and any other marginalized group—and lest we forget, the earth and all of its creatures. The intent here is to highlight social issues that people of God should continuously attend to, as opposed to being content with superficial forms of worship within the congregation.
[x] John 15:12. The greatest commandments were that we love God and each other. I am sure that omitting either of the two causes God great displeasure. In fact, God’s covenant with us is based on love. God loves us because God made us.
[xi] McFague, 1993 (Chapter 3). I see humans not so much as God’s body, but the fact that we were made in the image of God and are loved by God should be reason enough to respect all of God’s creation. Creation exists in an interdependent relationship. God designed it that way and the least humans can do is be responsible about how we treat the earth and her creatures.
[xii] Nehemiah 9:33. In every situation, God keeps the steadfast covenant of love. Regardless of the way we live in America, God keeps right on blessing us. Perhaps, our greatest blessings are yet to be realized. If in our sinfulness we still prosper, what would happen if we were to “do good, hate evil, and live humbly” with our neighbors? My intent in this poetic work is to convey God’s faithfulness in answering prayer. Prayer is critical to the faith of a people. During my seminary studies, I especially looked forward to times of “centering” prayer. In reference to the latter part of this section, no theology would be complete without a holistic image of God. I believe we should lift up every issue that is common to humankind when we pray - personal and communal concerns.
[xiii] This is a petition for God to hear the cry of a broken society. Not that God cannot see and hear all at all times, but I understand that it is in our asking that God answers for God knows what we need even before we ask. Various lessons from my seminary training at Emory helped me to understand more and more about ways to pray. See Maria Harris, Fashion Me A People (Kentucky: Wesminster/John Knox Press, 1989), Chapter 5, “Leiturgia: The Curriculum of Prayer.”
The commentator of Jeremiah 29:11-14 clearly stated the position of President Obama on a hopeful future in his reflections on verse 29:11,
"We're all encouraged by a leader who stirs us to move ahead, someone who believes we can do the task he has given and who will be with us all the way. God is that kind of leader. He knows the future, and his plans for us are good and full of hope. As long as God, who knows the future, provides our agenda and goes with us as we fulfill his mission, we can have boundless hope" (Tyndale Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation, page 1156).
God has provided such a leader in President Obama. God's plans for the people of God are always carried out by a chosen leader. President Barack Obama is that leader for this season in America's history. This is a season of hope when it looks as if all hope is gone. This is a time of renewal in the face of utter economic destruction. We will be guided into God's plan for our lives under the very capable leadership of President Obama and his awesome team.
My prayer is that all the people of the world who knows and believes in the power of prayer will join forces as did the wailing women intercessors of Jeremiah's day when they wept for Jerusalem:
This is what the Lord Almight says: "Think about what is going on! Call for the mourners to come. Quick! Begin your weeping! Let the tears flow from your eyes. Hear the people of Jerusalem [America] crying in despair, We are ruined! Disaster has come upon us! We must leave our land, because our homes have been torn down [lost]. (Jeremiah 9:17-20, NLT)
People of America and around the world, let us take up a prayerful mourn for our current situations. Let us turn to God in this dark hour with one voice as we support President Obama and the leaders of America and around the world!
"CALL FOR THE WAILING WOMEN [AND MEN]!
