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It had been extremely hot and dry.  There had hardly been any rain for 12 weeks.  The corn and other crops had wilted and looked to be beyond reviving.  This would mean starvation come winter.  There was no hope in their own ability to fix this situation.  But this group had learned to trust God, their Creator, as God, their Sustainer.  Thus, they called for a day of fasting and prayer to seek God’s face as to why He had withheld the rain.  After genuine repentance and worship that day in 1623, the rain began to fall that very night and, to their astonishment, their corn revived and produced wonderfully that summer.  The Pilgrims proved, once again, that prayer to God Almighty, the Father of Jesus Christ, is the way to move things in this world!

In the midst of our current crisis, we must remember that it is not up to us but the Lord Himself to change our hearts and forms of government.  While our part is to work with Him in what He’s doing, our praying will be what ultimately wins this battle.  God stirs us to prayer, reminding us,

“…you have not because you ask not; you ask and receive not because you ask amiss, that you may consume it on your own lusts.”

(James 4:2-3)

Others, beside the Pilgrims, have proven this throughout history.

George Washington prayed earnestly at Valley Forge.  He prayed for help in training his army, which was made up of volunteers who were not soldiers.  That winter of 1778 God answered his prayer and gave him a volunteer from Prussia, Baron Von Steuben: an officer from the Prussian army who had a passion for drill.  By the time spring came the Americans had become an army who could move as a unit and fire crisp volleys every 15 seconds.  Our enemies would be amazed at the change in our army.

Washington also prayed for food for his army.  And, though Congress had no means to provide it, God did, for we were fighting to preserve the liberty to take His Gospel to the next generation.  Wealthy businessmen, like Robert Morris and Thomas Nelson, would time and again send huge sums of money to aid Washington in his fight for liberty.  And God did an even greater miracle by sending fish up the river in Valley Forge two months ahead of their normal migration time (which was April).  The soldiers harvested those fish with pitchforks that cold February day and were literally saved from starvation!  God moved again in answer to the humble prayers of Washington and others.

Prayer is our foundational hope to return us to our roots.  The Lord will answer the prayers of His people concerning matters in this earth!  God says in Jeremiah 33:3,

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee; and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

At another critical time in our nation’s history we were urged to pray.  When our Constitution was being written it looked, at one point, as if the whole Convention might break up and a United States never be born.  At precisely this moment an 81 year-old man, Ben Franklin, stood to his feet and reminded the delegates of their meetings in this very room 20 years before.  He stated,

“In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection.  Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending Providence in our favor.

And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend?”

(Franklin, Benjamin. June 28, 1787. James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 (NY: W.W. Morton & Co., Original 1787 reprinted 1987), Vol. I, p. 504, 451-21. John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution – The Faith of Our Founding Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, A Mott Media Book, 1987, 6th printing 1993), pp. 12-13, 208.)

Fellow Americans: “Let us not forget ‘this powerful Friend’!”  Let us pray!

Think about it; because if you don’t, someone else will do your thinking for you— and for your children!  And you won’t like what that brings to you.  I’m Don Pinson, this has been Think About It.