Since March, our nation has experienced a dramatic unraveling that, among other things, has already expanded our national debt from 23.8 to 26.7 trillion dollars. No amount of money will repair our nation, but before sharing a vital step to reverse what is taking place before our eyes, let me summarize our recent journey, which has left many feeling overwhelmed, even afraid.
Whether or not COVID-19 fatalities have been exaggerated, few dispute that thousands of Americans have either died of the virus or have suffered greatly. Indeed, death has become a widespread fear within our culture. Further, an early “one-size fits all” lockdown solution was employed by almost every governor, keeping healthy low-risk people at home. At this time drug abuse, suicide, domestic violence, and anxiety increased dramatically. In the past month, as many as 1 in 4 despairing young adults have seriously contemplated suicide. These often-overlooked factors have further eroded our cultural stability and persist to this day.
Shortly after trying to assess the true dangers of the virus, our nation plunged into the worst race riots since Martin Luther King’s assassination. Contrary to Dr. King’s movement which was propelled by Christian values, these recent cries for racial justice have been led by the anti-Christian Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) and its radical wing, Antifa. Despite the Marxist ideologies of both organizations and its effect of promoting higher crime rates throughout our nation, BLM has been embraced by politicians in both parties and has received massive funding from many corporations.
Together, these riots, increased crime, and despair have resulted in the needless death of a vast number of innocent Americans. All-the-while, our nation has continued its crusade against our nation’s most innocent—those still in the womb. While church gatherings were deemed non-essential, many states declared abortion clinics to be essential—even calling them “life-sustaining” healthcare. However, it is important to remember that God hates the shedding of innocent blood (Eze. 22:1–5).
If you have felt overwhelmed by the events of 2020, you are not alone. None of us relish the feeling of helplessness, but sometimes feeling overwhelmed can prompt us to look beyond ourselves and our government for answers and can serve as a powerful motivation to cry out to God for help (see Psalm 107). This is a time when we should expect God’s people to rally in prayer as we seek the Lord’s strength and mercy.
Surprisingly, there have been few clarion calls for national prayer these past six months. However, two have surfaced that I believe are worth supporting. Together, these initiatives can potentially bring at least a measure of reversal to America’s unraveling.
10 Days is calling upon Christians to seek the Lord in humility for a week and a half. Occurring September 19–28, 10 Days challenges God’s people to mourn over our national sins and to intercede on behalf of America. We at Forerunners of America have partnered with this ministry for years and have appreciated the emphasis on personal and national repentance, as well as believing God to intervene to heal our land.
Overlapping the efforts of 10 Days is The Return on September 26. Organized by several Christian leaders, this is a national gathering at the Mall in Washington D.C. It too emphasizes the need for God to intervene before it is too late. Both 10 Days and The Return are calling Christians to pray over the themes found in 2 Chronicles 7:14:
- Humbling ourselves before God—recognizing His holiness and majesty as well as our inability to solve our problems
- Interceding—praying on behalf of our nation and its many challenges
- Seeking God’s face—pursuing God for who He is rather than only asking Him to resolve our problems
- Repentance—turning from our wicked ways personally and nationally
I hope you will participate in these national calls to prayer. In fact, I hope you will dedicate the entire month of September to crying out to God in accordance with these themes. This month (and hopefully beyond), I urge you to intercede for:
- A sufficient humbling and repentance among God’s people to engender God to stop the fatalities and economic fallout of COVID-19 (As we follow the fourfold prayer above, we need to remember that 2 Chronicles 7:14 is in the context of a nation that is experiencing a plague or pestilence such as COVID-19.)
- For the church to call people to repentance—to be more concerned about people’s eternal future than they are about people’s feelings and about temporary social issues
- The church to be bold—for a testimony that compels society to question why we don’t fear death and why we are willing to put ourselves at risk for the sake of ministering to others
- The church to lead culture into God’s ways of racial healing instead of trusting in godless movements like Black Lives Matter and Antifa to lead the way
- Righteous—or at least God-fearing—men and women to gain momentum during this election season
- The integrity of the voting process—voter fraud has already proven to be a significant problem in several of 2020’s primary elections
- The exposure of corruption and lies throughout our national and state leadership
- The exposure of corruption and lies throughout our nation’s news outlets
- The body of Christ to be strong while speaking the truth into every aspect of culture
- Many to come to the Lord in faith and repentance through these national difficulties
Soon more information about 10 Days and The Return will be posted at www.ForerunnersOfAmerica.org. Personally, I am looking forward to joining tens of thousands in Washington D.C for The Return. If you are not able to attend, please go to The Return website to see options for simulcasting the event locally.
Our national media may be focused on everything except Jesus Christ, but we know that He is the solution to our nation’s problems. This is no time for the church to be silent. All truth is God’s truth, and it will only gain traction in culture through the prayers and proclamations of God’s people. That’s us! We have a vital role to play! Let’s use 10 Days and The Return as rallying points around which we can unite our heart cries to the Lord.
