Such a Time as This

by: John Teichert

The Bible makes it clear that the Lord is ultimately and eternally trustworthy – 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Indeed, He desires that our faith would lead us into His caring arms, both for our temporal well-being and our eternal well-being. Do today’s Christian Americans rely upon the Lord like we should? Christians in early America certainly did so, and their faith was rewarded with protection and provision.

The authors of the Declaration of Independence staked their lives, their fortunes, and their reputations on the concepts contained in that formative and foundational document. They did so eagerly and willingly, knowing that they were following God’s will and confident in the Lord’s accompanying presence. The closing sentence of the Declaration of Independence vividly demonstrates this thorough trust in Him: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor remain as secure in the Lord’s hands today as they did during our nation’s birth. Do we instead rely upon ourselves to make an impact on our land instead of trusting in the Lord of the old paths? Even worse, have we given up on the Lord’s power to bring about a widespread revival in today’s America?

The solution for our nation’s problems, of which there are plenty, is plainly stated in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.” Yet, American Christians have failed to pray as we should. We have failed to live as we should. We have failed to put into practice the principles of this verse. On our watch, we have allowed our country to slip away from its founding Christian principles. As a result, our land now stands in desperate need of healing.

Nearly two years ago, as I was reading Esther 4, I was deeply burdened by the challenge from Mordecai to Esther when he said, “…who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” This challenge was a call to action, not just an individual call, but a collective call. Is it possible that we have been placed in our positions in this nation at this time to wrestle America back to godliness through our faithful prayers and actions? If we fail to act, we may miss God’s purpose for our lives; the blessings of God’s plan may pass us by.

As a response to this burden, I began the PLUS Ministry – Prayer at Lunchtime for the United States (http://prayatlunch.us). It is a simple call for Christians to pray daily and fervently for our nation and its leaders to spur widespread revival. The goal is to change our national spirit so that the Lord can change our national direction and bring healing to this land. The PLUS website is a simple tool to encourage prayer, providing bi-weekly prayer helps that are thought-provoking and always Bible based. More importantly than these tools, though, is a desire to see American Christians put PLUS into action by praying faithfully for our nation.

Prayer is the least we should do for our nation, and the most that we can do. Anything we do in our own power is insufficient for the task of transforming our nation. 2 Corinthians 3:5 states, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” The founding fathers recognized that if they were going to be part of something as miraculous as the birth of a new nation like the United States of America, then they needed to firmly rely upon the Lord. In this spirit, they humbled themselves and cast all their care upon Him, recognizing themselves insufficient for the task at hand. The result was an exalted nation.

If today’s American Christians are going to be part of something as miraculous as the rebirth of our nation through widespread revival, then we too need to firmly rely upon the Lord. We must humble ourselves and cast all our care upon Him. The nation will never be exalted once again unless we do so.

If you are like me, you yearn to be part of something miraculous in this land; you desire to see it return to the old paths and be healed. Such a transformation won’t come from the magnificent works of our hands, but by the heavenly reliance of our hearts. No matter what position you hold, you cannot make more of an impact on our nation than you can by praying. Please do so!

John Teichert
http://prayatlunch.us