Pray That We Will Pray

The wise King Solomon wrote in  the book of Proverbs that,"The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord;  He turns it wherever He wishes." {Prov. 21:1} This not only reminds us that ultimate authority is in the person of God Himself, but also that He is sovereign over all things, and guides them according to His eternal purpose. 

At this time, America is in the grip of a spiritual dynamic that has resulted in much fear, discouragement, economic loss, and tensions. One of the most disturbing things we're experiencing is the closure of churches across the nation. It is now the end of May 2020, and many churches thankfully are beginning to open again and people are cautiously returning to gather and worship the Lord.  This is after weeks of Christians being told by the state, that to worship the God of our founding fathers, and our God as well, through faith in Jesus Christ, was non essential and prohibited for the public good.  Bizarre to say the least.

But I wonder if the Sovereign hand of the Almighty is upon us to show us just what we are in danger of losing.  For decades now in our nation church attendance has been in decline. People who do attend often have very weak beliefs about essential christian teachings such as salvation, the authority and inerrancy of scripture, Jesus as the only way of salvation, and church attendance being necessary. People reason I don't need to come to church, I can worship God anywhere. That is true, yet it does not over ride the teachings of scripture for the people of God to gather together as one and worship Him through Jesus Christ. 

My point today is, if people confessing Jesus Christ as Lord are lax in church attendance and do not see it as essential, are they not in practice reinforcing the view of much of the states decision makers? If the heart of the king, {government leaders} are in God's hand is God trying to shake us up and use these decrees as a warning? If Christians take our freedom to attend church for granted and ignore the teachings of scripture and do not attend, is God saying to us in effect,"OK, you don't want to come to church, I'll allow wicked policies so that now you CAN'T come to church.  Now the perspective and dynamic changes.

I have always said that there is a spiritual dynamic at work as the response to this virus was initiated, that events are larger than the illness itself.  But perhaps it isn't against the church, as much as it is a result of a lax, spiritually dull church. Either way, the Lord Jesus has all authority in heaven and Earth, and now is our time to pray.  Lawsuits, protests, voting people in or out of office, petitions and the like are legitimate means of making our voice heard, and we're grateful to live in a nation where we can exercise these privileges. Yet, it is essential is that our voice is heard in heaven, and that our prayers rise like incense to Christ Jesus Who turns the hearts of kings, and raises up or casts down the same.

Maybe this season will stir the hearts of people confessing Jesus. Maybe we will be moved to pray and make our voice heard in heaven. But at this point, perhaps our actions have spoken louder than our words.