Joe Wright and I have joked often about the publicity he has received for the prayer I wrote. But that's okay with me — I didn't have to take all those hits! And he deserves credit for having the boldness to actually pray the prayer in front of the legislature! I'm thankful that so many Americans have resonated with that prayer. I hope we don't just read it but really pray it and genuinely repent before God.

A HISTORY OF PRAYER

One of the reasons the United States has been so blessed by God is that in times of trouble, leaders and citizens of this nation have always turned to prayer.

The pilgrims barely survived the first winter in the new land. They prayed that God would provide and they made it through. When the first harvest came, they set aside a special time to thank God for his blessings.

George Washington knelt in the snow at Valley Forge and asked God for the resources so the revolutionary army could survive.

When the Constitutional Convention met in 1789, tempers flared and harsh words were spoken in the debate over how the new government should operate. After much argument, the members had come to a stalemate. But Benjamin Franklin, aged and ailing, made yet one more important contribution to the young nation — he asked for God's intervention. "God governs in the affairs of men," he said, addressing George Washington and the assembly. "And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?" Franklin then suggested beginning each session with prayer and that a member of the clergy be retained to lead them in their supplications. Not only did this bring the Convention back to an essential focus, but it also led to the establishment of a chaplaincy in the United States Congress that remains to this day.7

Abraham Lincoln, perhaps the greatest president of our country, said, "I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go. My own wisdom and that of those about me seemed insufficient for the day."

The events of September 11, 2001, were tragic, but they resulted in a brief spiritual revival in America. As Max Lucado said, "Some evil men sought to drive America to her knees that fateful day, but they did not know the God to whom we pray when we are on our knees." Americans flocked to churches the evening of September 11 and the days that followed, falling on their knees before God in prayer. The leaders of our nation openly called upon us to pray to God for America. For several months the song "God Bless America" was for all practical purposes our national anthem. It was sung at every public gathering alongside of the traditional "Star Spangled Banner," often with more zeal and enthusiasm.

THE FUTURE OF AMERICA: WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE

As we face an uncertain future with prospects of war and threat of more terrorism always looming, we would be wise to pray. We should pray, "Lord, help us to avoid war if possible, but to always have the courage to stand for what is right. Protect our sons and daughters and allow justice to prevail. Lord, help us to repent of our immorality, greed, and disrespect for life, and may our nation turn to you."

I hear some Christian people talking very pessimistically about America's future. "We're finished," they say. "We're a post-Christian nation now and God will judge us for our disobedience." I agree that God will judge us if we do not repent, but we don't know the future. Our God is an awesome God, and he promises to listen to the prayers of his people. Jesus said, "With God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

Who would have ever thought that communism would fall in the Soviet Union? One of the two most powerful nations in the world came unraveled. The Berlin Wall came tumbling down. What happened? Was it economic pressure? Did Gobachev underestimate the power of reformation? One factor that is often overlooked is the faithful prayers of persecuted Christians in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine and other communist countries.

Chuck Colson, in his book A Dance with Deception, tells about visiting some Soviet prisons in 1990 just prior to the collapse of communism. He met a physicist in prison named Alexander Goldovich, who had been arrested for trying to escape in a rowboat. Goldovich was given fifteen years of hard labor in a Siberian prison camp.

The KGB insisted on filming Colson's interview. But Colson said Goldovich still looked straight into the camera and fearlessly described his years of unjust torture in the prison camp. Colson said he couldn't help but admire the man's courage. Then he saw the source of his strength: Over in the corner, above the door, etched in the concrete, was a cross — a symbol of the spiritual power that had sustained him. It wasn't Gorbachev who changed the nation — it was men like Alexander Goldovich who were living righteous lives and praying for freedom.

Only time will tell whether America will return to her proud ways or continue to humble herself before God in times of trouble. The Bible says that the burden of proof rests on those of us who call ourselves God's children. It is our job to take the lead in prayer. God promised in his Word,

"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." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

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Bob Russell is senior minister of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY.

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1. Paul Marshall, Their Blood Cries Out: The Untold Story of Persecution of Christians in the Modern World (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1997), from a summary on the back of the book.
2. dc talk, Jesus Freaks (Tulsa, OK: Albury Publishing, 1999), inside cover.
3. U.S. House Resolution, Scripps-Howard News Service (28 September 1996).
4. Elizabeth P. Prentiss, "More Love to Thee." Music by William H. Doane. Public Domain.
5. dc talk, Jesus Freaks (Tulsa, OK: Albury Publishing, 1999), 124-25.
6. Bob Russell, "A Call for National Repentance," Lookout Magazine (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing), 5 November 1995.
7. "Franklin's Appeal for Prayer at the Constitutional Convention." Available form http://www.wallbuilders.com/resources/search/detail.php?ResourceID=19.