Lord, Hear Our Cry!
Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day – 1 Kings 8:28
Sin always brings repercussions. According to the Bible and everyday experiences, the wages of sin is death Rom 6:23. Where there is an abundance of sins there are all types of disaster, pain, judgement and a large reaping of negative effects. As sin grows, so do the miseries of society and “innocent” people get swept away due to the fact that we all reap what we sow (Gal 6:7).
Though sin attracts judgement, God is not in a hurry to deal with the painful but well-deserved response. Therefore, God applies the principle of mercy because mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13). His love for humanity causes Him to hold back on what could have been disastrous for everyone because He is described as merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abundant in goodness and truth (Exod.34:6), and unwilling that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
However, God’s standard for people is to live righteous and holy lives. Therefore, while He exercises grace, there will still be a day of judgement coming on sinners and those continually reject His offer of love, forgiveness and cleansing. This being the case, our nations and societies are headed to an eternity of God’s judgement because of the high levels of increasing sin and wickedness. The remedy is for intercessors and believers to plead for His mercy, repent of their sins and and the sins of our nation, cry out for His help and turn from wickedness back to God.
One great opportunity for crying out for the salvation of America is The National Day of Prayer. Since the inception of this observance in 1952, it has been a practice for people to gather and cry out to God. His promise is that when His people cry out in humility, turn away from sin and seek His face, there will be a response from Heaven. Consequently, the forgiveness of sins and healing of the land will ensue (2 Chron 7:14).
This opportunity of praying for our nation is not limited to a few. This year, as we experience the difficulties in our nation with so many uprisings, recent burnings, lootings and anger that has been vented, we need to pray like never before. As we keep seeing news headlines of natural disasters, wars, killings and all manner of pain all over the world, we ought to stand up and “pray.” The world is boiling because it does not have solutions that we have! In prayer, we can call upon the Lord and see Him turn our nation around because He “hears our cry.”
Make time, additional efforts, and take steps to go out and join others in this year’s National Day of Prayer. It’s happening all around you; don’t be left out! Let heaven take record of your participation. Let there be seasons of refreshing for our Nation. Let us stand in the gap for all Americans. Let us experience the visitation of our God, and in the words of the Old Prophet we can each say O LORD, I have heard your speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy (Hab 3:2).
From the Capital of our Nation, to all the cities and places in America, you can locate a gathering on Thursday, May 7th. Join the movement towards prayer.
Comment(1)
Chike Ume says
April 30, 2015 at 3:01 amAmen! God will hear our cry. He will show mercy as we repent of all our sins. Just got convicted of the sin of procastination… may be, that’s why I am able to post this comment today. He will answer us speedily as we travail in prayer for our Nation – USA and all othe Nations of the world. God is also waiting for the Remnants to Arise. But the Remnants are caught up in Cricisms, judgments and pointing of fingers. Let the intercessors arise like Moses, Nehemia and Daniel. Let us cry unto the Lord “WE have sinned.” We have failed Him or denied Him by not praying fervently (James 5:16b). What happened in Nepal shows that Millions are praying for Nepal. If God saved that ‘Little Baby’ from the rubbles in Nepal, He will SURELY hear our prayers. God does not want any man to perish, Amen!