Shirley M Rodgers: Our Country Needs Your Prayer

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Our Country Needs Your Prayer

Posted Sep 6 2012 by Waylon in Pastoral Leadership with 2 Comments

The preseidential and vice-presidential candidates have all made the same basic statement: This will be the most important election in memory. It certainly seems that this election will set the tenor for the next generation.
Would anyone disagree that our country needs prayer? Could anyone dispute that we need God?
I want to make a suggestion but it is really more of a plea. Would you commit to pray for America? There are probably plenty of plans and any plan will work. Here is the plan I would recommend. It is sponsored jointly by the North American Mission Board and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. The prayer guide is non-partisan. It will simply guide you to pray for the time leading up to the election on November 6. It is specifically a prayer vigil for renewal and revival.
You can download the prayer guide at this link: http://erlc.com/documents/pdf/2012-4040prayerguide.pdf.
You can read articles supporting this endeavor here http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/07/15/sbc-4040-prayer-vigil-coming-this-fall-2/ and here http://4040prayer.wordpress.com/.
The 4040 works this way. You can either pray daily for 40 days starting September 26 or you can pray for the 40 hours leading up to the election. Either way will work though I recommend the 40 days of prayer leading up to the election day.
In the Bible the number 40 had great significance. It seems appropriate to use that number to pray for America as we make the most important vote that any of us can remember.
I often ask you to share my blog if you find it meaningful. Today I want to ask you to share with everyone possible. We need to pray. We need to enlist as many people as possble to join with us in lifting our voices to our God. Maybe again He will be merciful to us. God provided a way for His wayward people to return to Him:” If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Let us go boldly to the throne of grace, asking God to heal our land. Let us turn from our sin and rebellion and seek His face. Who knows that God may hear and heal our land?
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