Gratitude for Living in a Country in which we can Openly Pray!
"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."
Hebrews 13:15
Yesterday was National Day of Prayer in the United States. Praise God that we live in a nation that has this freedom, where we are not persecuted on a legislative level for exercising our faith! What luxury we have, compared to the Apostle Paul:
II Corinthians 11:24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands...
Many people maintain the belief this country was founded by believers, opening the very first congressional meetings with prayer. You could say that our nation has gone astray since then, but once God is invited in to a place, He will not give up his territory without a fight - and we know that God is ALWAYS victorious, even in the face of powerful rulers of nations:
Job 12: 16-18 God is strong and always victorious; both deceived and deceiver are in his power. He takes away the wisdom of rulers and makes leaders act like fools. He dethrones kings and makes them prisoners...
I think perhaps we could admit to taking these things for granted - that in general, we are free to pursue God and proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord in our country; also that we have vast amounts of divine protection over us, if we continue in obedience, and pray over our selves, our churches, and our country. Today take the time to praise God for our safety, for our freedom, for our protection!
This is not a political post, nor a nationalistic one. This is not about the United States of America; rather, this is about the United Body of Christ. Through our prayers, our praise, our outreach, our encouragement, we can gather the Body together, mustering confidence, boldness, strength in Jesus Christ. The internet has allowed for greater penetration into the world - use this as a tool to witness and encourage (see praise report below!) As blessed body members here in the US, we have a particular responsibility to care for our members who are at greater risks then we normally find ourselves.
I Corinthians 12:24-27 But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
“This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him”
(Ephesians 3:11-12)
Like the verse in Hebrews quoted at the beginning of this post, "let the fruit of our lips give thanks to His name" - as a sacrifice, it states! Did we ever think of our words as being a sacrifice to God? Words indeed have power, especially when spoken out loud. So be bold and confident in Christ today, speak His name aloud and give him praise and thanksgiving, in unison with others around this nation.
The following praise reports speaks to this boldness:
PRAISE REPORT!
Boldness and Confidence to Speak of Jesus on Social Media
"I have never been comfortable speaking about my faith in social media, for fear of offending someone, or getting into an awkward or even confrontational conversation. I assumed people will roll their eyes at my Christian comments and lash back at me. Then one day God moved me to take a risk and say something. I read on my feed a post by one of my "friends" - it was about a celebrity who was very lost and damaged. They were perversely oggling at her as one would a train wreck. I simply left the comment, "She needs Jesus." Wow did this simple comment open up a can of worms! This just goes to show the POWER in speaking the name of Jesus - I have never received more comments in any Facebook discussion! At first people ridiculed me and said "the LAST thing this girl needs is patronizing religious mind control!" "Oh by, here we go - here comes Jesus!" Lots of mockery of me and Christ. The "friend" said she didn't want Jesus posts on her wall.
But then someone expressed genuine curiosity - they simply wanted to hear what I had to say, give me the floor, so to speak. I calmly said out of respect for this person's wall, I would not discuss it openly, but invited him to privately message me to talk. Then the person whose wall it was granted me permission to speak. All eyes were on me - or rather, were on God. I shared the gospel and explained why I felt this lost celebrity would benefit from Jesus in her life. To my amazement, the ridicule stopped flat. No-one got on their knees asking God into their heart; no-one admitted anything...but neither did anyone continue the argument. It was silent, almost reverent. A few more comments were made that let me know that despite the silence, people were still reading and engaging...they just didn't know what to say. I have no idea what happened in this conversation for any of these readers, 99% of whom I do not know. But I know a seed was planted, and I praise God for moving in me, for giving me not only the words to say in that forum (they certainly didn't come from me!) but the boldness to say them in the first place. "For those who have hears to hear..." Praise you, Lord, for social media - for the ability to broadcast your message far and wide, across time and space, to millions of people."
PRAISE REPORT!
Success in Mediation - God's Mouthpiece
"Yesterday held a huge answer to prayer [through mediation] - a real celebration of the Lord’s presence and direction. There is so much value to doing your best - being prepared - and ready- then leaving the matter solely to the Lord."
Learn more about the 31 Days of Praise!
Send praise reports to: promisebiblestudy@gmail.com