“Unless the Lord
builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the
watchman stays awake in vain.” –Psalm
127:1 (ESV).
This verse from Psalm 127, a wisdom
psalm and also a psalm of ascents has been chosen for the prayer verse by a
nation-wide “Unite in Prayer” concerted effort calling upon Americans to pray
earnestly for forty days before our November 6 elections. I think it would not be doing the verse an
injustice to think of “house” and “city” in the verse as our nation. “Unless
the Lord builds the nation, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the nation, the
watchman stays awake in vain.” It
has been stated recently that America is no longer a Christian nation, that
present-day citizens have left their “first love” and gone after other gods
rather than the one true God who led our forefathers to establish a nation
based upon justice and the principles of righteousness and the covenant code,
much as Moses led the children of Israel to establish a godly nation. The forty days of prayer are intended to call
Americans back to the basics of depending on God and seeking His forgiveness
and guidance.
The theme for “Unite in Prayer” is II
Chronicles 7:14: “”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 I will hear from
heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” There are four conditions God requires of
His people before He will hear, forgive and heal. These four conditions are to become humble,
to pray, to seek His face and to turn from wicked ways. Humility recognizes our need for strength beyond
ourselves. Just like the Psalmist states
in 127:1, we cannot build the house alone.
Neither can we handle a nation and its problems, conduct government, and
handle multiple needs without recognizing that there is One who supercedes all
human wisdom and has already set in motion the principles for governing with
justice and equality. Prayer is the next
step in meeting God’s requirements. For
too long as a nation we have operated on our own power to handle complex and
intricate human and governmental problems.
It is time to confess our helplessness and to pray for guidance and
direction. Seeking God’s face will
acknowledge that we have failed miserably and we are turning to Him for
forgiveness and guidance. To turn from
our wicked ways will acknowledge that we’ve failed in human relationships in
almost every area of society—in civil actions, in family relationships, in how
we treat our fellowman, and in our falling away from spiritual values. If we
can raise a national consciousness of our need for God and a turning to Him for
forgiveness and help, then we have His promise that He will hear, forgive and
heal our land.
The basic theme of Psalm 127 is that
without the Lord’s blessing, all human toil is worthless. May we join hearts, minds and spirits in
an earnest and sincere seeking for God’s intervention in the affairs of our
nation. May we be able after prayer to
discern how to cast our vote for those who will be willing to stand firm on godly
principles. And may we ourselves be faithful
in praying and working toward the end that America can still be a blessing to
those who call this dear land their own as well as to those in the world who
look to America as a leader among nations to do what is righteous and just. May we live by faith, trusting God for our
future well-being as we seek to rebuild a nation according to His principles of
justice and equality.
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