Putting the National Day of Prayer in Proper Perspective
1Timothy 2: 8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; (NKJV)
Tomorrow is May 6, 2010. This date has been set aside since 1988 for the National Day of Prayer and the history of such proclamations actually goes back to our revolutionary days as the 13 colonies. There is no doubt that the majority of our founding fathers shared the same beliefs that we do (sorry atheists). They believed in the God of the Bible and His son Jesus Christ. But a funny thing happened on the way to the future. Because we established this country with freedom as our basis, people of other beliefs came here as well. This became a polytheistic country and a largely pagan culture. The concept of God is actually accepted and politically correct. In this country, 92% of the people believe in God. But when we deal in matters of faith and salvation, the mere belief in God is not enough:
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. James 2:19
You have to have relationship with God. And there is only one, very politically incorrect way to have that:
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
It is verses such as these that make Jesus as politically incorrect as the mere concept of God is acceptable. Because it is definitive. It allows for no wiggle room. The truth is that we have been creating God in our own image since the fall of man. John 14:6 allows no such creativity. If you wish to have eternal life then you must come to Jesus. That grates against people because Jesus shines the light of truth into the darkest places of our souls and we often do not wish to see that. God is not interested in the religions of man. He is interested however in having a living relationship with each and every one of us. Prayer is the communication within that relationship.
Our key verse shows us the desire
of God regarding prayer. First of all, God wants men everywhere to be praying.
For us today I think this should be a reminder that people in other countries
matter to God. Sometimes we can fall into the habit of thinking that God only
blessed
