Father, first and foremost I thank You for the United States of America; I thank You for what she has been to hundred of millions of people, and while I know she's far from even coming close to being perfect, I nevertheless thank You for her. I thank You that we have had unlimited freedom to worship You, serve You, and to share Your Truth with others, and I thank You for using this great nation to send those willing to take the Gospel into hostile lands around the world. I thank You for Your holy Word being available in virtually every bookstore in the country, and the liberty to read it at any time and in any place. For Your own pleasure and in accordance to Your grand, flawless plan You've seen fit to bless this nation like You've blessed no other—therefore, I thank You. I thank You for the peaceful transition of power in our elections, for the ability to use Your given gifts to make a living; I thank You for the greatest, most well-trained military of all time, and unprecedented free flow of information and ideas. I thank You for the beacon of hope and freedom my beloved country has been.
But Lord, there is one thing that I thank You for above all else, and that for Your incomprehensible, everlasting mercy upon us; we could never do anything to deserve Your unparalleled blessings of riches, prosperity, and protection, but especially in the face of our profound sin before Your holy face. Father, we have left the solid foundation of Your Word to build on shifting sand. We have turned our backs upon You and unwittingly embraced wickedness and now we have no power to discern between wisdom and folly, good and evil, order and confusion. Father, no terrorist threat, natural disaster, or any other calamity can come close to equalling the severity of the divine judgment poised to be outpoured unmixed on us; but Lord, remember us in Your mercy. We have attacked Your standard for decency through our godless, immoral entertainment, we have stood idly by and permitted the decades-long slaughter of the unborn, we have redefined marriage in favor of lasciviousness, and embraced the spirit of Antichrist. Oh, Lord, be merciful to us! Indecency has become the norm on the public airwaves, the idolatry of humanism is the religion of an inept, corrupt school system, and our lack of self-control is paralyzing us with horrific violence on our streets, in loveless homes, irreconcilable financial debt, a deluge of pornography, fornication, drug addiction and sloth. Lord, help us to reject the foul priesthood of wicked entertainers and corrupt politicians who polute the minds of our children!
But perhaps, Lord, the greatest showering of Your mercy should come upon the Church in America. We have become enamored with the trappings of this society and let the society conform us to its depraved image; we have forgotten that our King could come at any moment and that this world is not our home. We have allowed complacency to wreak havoc in our minds and hearts, becoming tolerant to the most destructive of sins. We have permitted sin to gain footholds in our minds and in our conduct and our prayers have grown selfish and mundane. We have forgotten that this is the last hour and that it is much later than we think. Lord, Your Church is most deserving of Your fierce judgment, but for the sake of Christ, please be merciful to us.
We pray for repentance, humility, meekness, and love to reign within Your people. Show us our sin and return us to Christ's selflessness so that we can be used by Your Holy Spirit; ignite a Spirit-fueled fire within us that burns brightly only for You and for Your will; return us to prayer that moves Your heart, and to an insatiable hunger for Your Word, which alone is true treasure.
I pray that You soften hearts across this nation Lord, that the lost may come to Christ. I pray that You open eyes to see the gravity of our plight and that You touch the minds of those charged with the solemn duty to govern at the consent of the governed. Father, let us not look back with crushing regret and be shamed by our failure to repent.
I thank You that nothing can take You by surprise; I rest in the truth that all things are under Your complete unshakable control, and that even this can and will be used for Your own glory. I take solace in the fact that Your Kingdom shall endure for all time and that even after America's time in the setting sun is over, eternal dawn shall be the order of the day in Your Kingdom. I honor You and praise You and wait eagerly for the return of Your dear Son.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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