I've written much about the need for prayer - speaking humbly with God and believing He'll work in a situation. This is a good
time, with the incredible turmoil in our nation, to mostly post a
prayer and invite others to join, as I did in this one.
I know many feel hopeless after this recent election, and just want someone to bring hope. God looks beyond our differences, He knows there's only one race, the human race, unlike what sinful man tries to do. So, you can skip down to the prayer and pray if you want, but these first couple smaller sections are very helpful to get our hearts in the right mood, as they discuss that relationship with God and the fact intercessory prayer is needed for our country.
God Desires a Relationship With You - Turn to Him
God loves you and gives everyone - you - the chance to have a personal relationship
with Him, so He can give you His perfect love, comfort, peace that passes understanding,and other blessings as we walk in this world. That relationship lets you pray to Him anywhere, anytime about anything if you trust Him to save you from your sins.
Repenting is like a U-turn with your heart. It would be like realizing in your heart, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was only going to the store and was inconvenienced a few minutes, while that driver may have been anxious to go see his mother one last time before she died. I'm sorry I judged them, forgive me and help me not do that next time." It's just agreeing with God that sin is sin and God must judge it; and, that He judged it at the cross when He took the punishment for that sin, dying and rising from the dead.
That
salvation from your sin must be received with the heart, not just head knwoledge. It is a free gift - we are saved "By grace...through faith, and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."(Eph.2:8) It's the only
system that doesn't require people to something they can boast of to
reach God - "not of works, lest any man should boast."(Eph.2:9) That
boasting by others is annoying to us, but more importantly, it speaks of works and we can't
reach up to God because we can't make ourselves perfect. So; God reached
down to us.
The way to receive that gift is to - Admit you're a sinner and fall short of God's
perfection, Believe that Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died to take your
punishment and rose from the dead, and Call on Him to save you from your
sin and forgive you and make you new inside. Choose to pray and trust Him to forgive you and save you and turn from your sins, Caling on Him to make you new so He can live in you and make you kinder, more loving, etc. - you can make that heart-mind decision right now, in fact.
This shows that if it's required for a healthy relationship, then we must turn our hearts toward God when we pray. Prayer won't work if our hearts aren't right. This is because when we are turned away from him there is something between us, just like if people have an argument. and one is in Miami and the other in Atlanta. If the one says they'll go to Miami to make up and drive toward Alaska, they'll never be on the road to Miami. Hence, the "U-turn with your heart."
God wants us to have a relationship with Him, but He must also punish sin. That's why we must come with repentant heart and humbly seek His forgiveness and for Him to work in our lives. God is holy and just and will punish sin; He can't have any sin in His presence. Heaven will be a wonderful place where nothing bad can happen to you, there'll be no suffering, no pain,(Rev. 21), just great diversity of people where nobody has seen, heard, or even imagined the wonders that await us.(1 Cor.2:9) There can be no sin there, or it would cause suffering. So, God provided that way of salvation so any who are in Christ are new creatures - "old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new."(2 Cor.5:17)
God wants us to enjoy His presence here, too. All are supposed to be equal in Christ Jesus(Gal 3:28). We have failed in that, and must repent of the evils of the last 400 years, not just the last 50; and, we must also repent for things we failed to do as well, such as how we haven't spoken out enough agaisnt violence against women.
How To Repent for a Country? Intercessory Prayer
It's great to share that love with others, and something we must do. Jesus could come at any moment, and each must be ready and share how to get saved now and what to do if millions vanish. However, that's about individuals.
Interceding for a country is like that, in a way, though. Our country is a mess. Many verses speak to things we should have done, such as Micah 6:8,etc. about God requiring mercy, loving everyone as equals no matter what race and treating them as equals, helping the powerless, etc.. But, that country is made up of individuals who can be reached and changed on the inside.
Even so, individuals should follow God's ways and not mistreat or look down on thsoe of other races or women, and must make sure justice applies equally.
this requires a move of the Holy Spirit. It would mean that god would be interceding for many people, and that takes very fervent prayer. Such a Heaven-sent revival must begin in our own hearts, which is why I went over what I did above; we must seek it for God's glory and not ours because only He knows the perfect thing for our country; also, because he wants us to focus on things of heaven where nothing can happen to them and not things of earth which will pass away. He has our best interests at heart doing that. There is more discussion of intercessory prayer here, too.
There are other posts here, too, which speak of repentance revival, but it all boils down to this - God's people seeking for God to intervene to pour out his Spirit to change those things which displease Him. that, of course, requries our hearts to be right with Him to do that.
Once Jesus saves you He comes to live in you through the Holy Spirit, but you still have a sin nature and so you'll still struggle. There is a lot of bitterness and anger on both sides politically right now, for instance - things that stir up pain and hatred. God allows bad things so we don't become mindless robots - and so cause and effect can continue without some strange cartoon physics. However, He wants to guide us through those hard times with His peace. When things like anger and bitterness are fed they lead to destructiveness. Instead, we need to build the Fruits of the Spirit in our lives(Gal.5:22-23) which I've mentioned.
With that, I ask you to please join in prayer and pass this around, too. Print it out if you want. Just remember, it's not just words you say, it's speaking with God personally for things to be made right. It can be your own words, of course, as long as you are in agreement with god about the sinful ways of this nation and how he can change it. We need Him; we can't do it without Him. But, He also promises that with Him, all things are possible.
A prayer of national repentance
"Dear Lord Jesus, we have sinned and come short of your perfection. We have seen so much violence and oppression and other mean stuff in our nation, and I know you hate the culture that has developed. Lord, I'm sorry we have been so mean, in many cases since our founding as colonies, and I ask you to please forgive us.
"While we kept important things like honesty, love, and
so on which you say are vital we didn't do that with some people, we
were sinners who needed to let you change us on the inside. We failed at
that Lord, and for that I am sorry.
"Of course, I too am not perfect, and
so before I go further I ask your forgiveness for my sins, I know you
died to take my punishment for my sin and rose from the dead, and I trust you
to forgive me and save me from all my sin. I plead the blood of Jesus over all my sin and invite you to
work in me, making me new on the inside, so I can make a difference the lives of
others. And, in this nation.
"Lord, today I come to you because our nation is in turmoil. No matter who had won
the election, the other side would have been up in arms. Lord, we know
we can't make this world perfect because we are all imperfect people.
Lord, we need you to work a mighty work in this nation. We recognize we
have no hope unless we turn all of our problems over to you. So, Lord, I
plead with you to please heal this broken land.
"I plead with you, Lord,first, to forgive us for relying on people to solve the things only you can solve. Lord, we know you alone are the author of hope, we are not able to create a perfect world, and when we try it ends in selfish boasting and other problems. When we were more dedicated to you, we at least recognized the need for civil discourse and those who truly followed you would proclaim the need for us to be free, and we could look past our faults, but now we have so many people who are so full of faults, and yet they attack each other so vigorously. Lord, we repent of our search for people who just worry about more or fewer laws and instead ask your Holy Spirit to move int he hearts of the people of this country to turn to you.
"Lord, as part of that turning to you, we admit to 400 years of sin in our land, that we have not treated others with respect, we have not established true justice for all, we have created a backward system and despire the revivals you brought centuries ago, we kept trusting in outward appearances and slogans and di not repent of our wicked thoughts toward others. For that, Lord, we repent and turn back to you and trust you to cleanse us from these stains.
"Lord, our actions have brought about spirits of discord, of bitterness, of anger. Our focus on the things of this world have caused us to lose sight of that which unites us, that being the cross at the foot of which all truly are equal. We have fought over jobs and neighborhoods and things instead of acceptign others as equals and being united in a common cause, that of sharing sweet fellowship with you and lovingly leading others to Christ so they, too, can know that forgiveness and love you give to all who put their trust in you.
"Lord, we ask humbly that you would eliminate this spirit of discord and bitterness and anger and violence and rioting, and instead bring a spirit of peace and calm and comfort to all Americans.
"Lord, we pray that you would foster a spirit of communication between all Americans, that we would learn learn to get along with one another int he way you proclaim it, for we are not "us" and "the other" but we truly are to be "one another," united in hope for each other and sharing that wonderful fruit of the Spirit, bestowing love, joy, peace, gentleness, and so on to all and learn about each other and coming to treat one another in a civil manner the way we should.
"Lord, we also see much oppression in certain specific areas, too, and it is for those things we pray an end, also, for you say to go boldly - not brashly but with confidence you will hear and heal our land, because your people pray. And, Lord, with these specifics, please help us to remember to pray consistently as these will be spiritual battles which will take time.
"Lord we pray for an end to racism in our police, we pray for those who have betrayed the people by harming innocents to be brought to justice, and we will trust in your perfect justice, but we also ask you to end the violence against blacks and others who don't pose a threat, Lord, work in the police departments and give them the desire to constantly work to ensure that they don't have police who will do these things. Lord, please protect all those blacks and African-Americans and turn Black lives Matter into a cause that is moved by the Holy Spirit to cry out to you and to invite white people to join just as was done in the 1960s and which will help the police who are doing their jobs. Lord, we also pray for the protection of the police and an end to the slaying of all innocent people.
"Lord, please heal our inner cities, rebuild families and give women and youth encouragement to be the leaders where needed, as you did the Shunemmite in 2 Kings 4:8 onward, that our youth may have good role models who are Godly people, and turn our culture away from the terrible pain, heal that pain and agony, Lord, so we may not be hurting each other so much, we cry out to you for an end to all of the inner city problems through jobs that matter, that can give us hope, so we can truly make a difference and be free from the scourge of drugs and such. Lord, please trn hearts to end the violence gaisnt women and minorities and children and everyone.
"Lord we really pray for an end to all of this violence and rioting and destructiveness. Lord, we beg you in Jesus' name, do not allow the devil to have his way in this land, please prevent the forces of darkness from increasing the pain, but instead bring an end to those organiers who have agendas of destruction and instead raise up people who have agendas of conscientious dialogue who can and will truly accomplish things to heal this divide.
Lord, we have focused so much on worldly goods, and we repent of that focus on that and ignoring the thigns of God, family and kindness and peace, help us to be content with such things as we have, but at the same time cause the rich to also be content and not be demanding more than they should; Lord you know the role you have for each of us and we pray you will help each of us to have that peace and not ignore the fact you do call us to be able to own thigns - hence the admonition never to steal or covet - but you also call on us to not oppress the poor, so please, Lord, end the oppression that occurs so much. please heal the divide between rich and poor and cause people to all focus on building treasures in Heaven by giving to those causes which will help those that are in need.
"Lord, we further pray for a healing of the divide which has occurred because of gender inequality, Lord help us to recognize that you have a specific plan for each of our lives, and that is to be treated lovingly and with compassion and never to be seen as objects, which is true for all, male and female. Lord, we ask you to end porn and all devient sexual stuff, send your Holy Spiritt to convict our hearts and set them right. Lord, we pray that you will send a calming spirit to those who feel agitated and stirred up by the harsh and even evil words of some leaders, and at the same time that those leaders would repent and no longer say or do evil but will instead humbly allow you to work int heir hearts and make them more loving and compassionate toward others.
"Indeed, Lord, increase the compassion of all of us, but at the same time help us to realize that you do call sin as sin for a reason, and please help us to remain steadfast against the sin in this land, that it may be stopped and that your ways would be established as right in our hearts, and that you would see to it that people are protected no matter what they believe and that our freedom to worship you and practice our faith not be curtailed, as you say in Your Word and as our Constitution says, too.
"Lord, please also send a spirit of calm over all those who protest the most recent election, that instead of worrying about who is in power we instead work to make this world better, because with all of this bitterness and anger there is so little hope, but when we have effective communication where we know things will be better we do hve hope, and so I pray that a spirit of peace and a willingness to discuss solutions instead of complaining about problems be evident in each and every person. Lord, change the hearts of our leaders where they need changed to fully come along what you will for us, those who do not know You may they truly come to know youpersonally as their Saviour, and may all who know you be drawn closer to you. may they be torn away from false gods and realize that you are the God of love, and may they be drawn to you and receive you by faith alone for perfect peace and stability int hese troubled times. May those who are on the fence renounce their ties to the New Age stuff and the worldly system some have and instead may they lean wholly on you, knowing you will win in the end; indeed you have already wont he victory.
"We also pray that if there are any scandals that justice would be done and that you would be glorified in showing that actions have consequences. Indeed, Lord, we pray for the hearts of all those in power be brought to you.
"Lord, you provided a great revival to break out int he late 1850s because 2 businessmen began to meet to pray at lunch in New York City and it spread; Lord, may we see the same attitude in business today, that people would stop beign greedy and that they would stop mistreating any employees.
"Lord, may people further grow those fruits of the Spirit and be honest, gentle, considerate, not backbiting, and in general may we all become more Christlike instead.
"Indeed, Lord, we pray for an end to all the terrible abuse and misuse of people, especially sexually, may you protect all those who can't protect themselves, and may you work in every situation to ensure that our children are safe fromt he effects of demonic forces which are out to seduce them into thinking they hve no hope; provide them with hope, Lord, may they see you at work and sense ou are real, may they all call on you to save them nd if the Rapture is close then I pray they will all be saved, because there are so many who have not been able to hear clearly to make a decision because of the terrible exploitation which goes on, the wful stealing of their innocence by a cruel and wicked world bent on making them think they are accidents when in fact each of us is created by God for a very special purpose, each of us is special to You, Lord. Indeed, we pray for an end to all the harm being done by our education system and for you to end the problems of bullying there, too, by teaching young people to value others as you, Lord, value them.
"Lord I'm sorry for all the evil that has come before, which we ask you to heal in humble repentance today. Lord, there are countless other sins I have not mentioned, so while a calming spirit int he crowds surrounding this electionand its aftermath are the main focus of this prayer, along with some other things, I ask you too, Lord, to please work in our hearts for other things in this revival, that many people will turn their hearts toward you and away fromt he many sins that have befallen our nation. May you bring us a great repentance revival and help me to accept if there are things that maybe aren't in your timetable or that maybe I'm wrong about, kindly help me to understand and at least accept your ways are higher than my ways, as the sky is higher than the seas.
"Lord, please give us that great repentance revival we need, not because we deserve it, not because we hve earned it, not because of our history, but only because of who You are, the God of grace and mercy who is slow to anger and whose mercies are new every morning, who is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
"Lord, please bring many individuals to repentance and to salvation in you, please end this spirit of fear and terror and discord and bring to us a spirit of love, of peace, of unity in you, and end the terrible protests and riots and instead bring us to all want to follow and praise you for your ultimate victory over evil. Lord, please bring us a spirit of acceptance of others not becasue of some political correctness but becuase of the civility you call us to have in loving others, so we can be more like you. Lord, please tear down the walls of hostility and fear but isntead help us to share with others how to work within the existing law to have civil discourse, and give us the freedom to be able to share Christ's love with others and may be receive gldly. Please, oh Lord, forgive us for our sins. For today, Lord, we turn from our sins as a nation, and trust you to forgive us and save us and heal our land. In Jesus' precious name, Amen."
"I plead with you, Lord,first, to forgive us for relying on people to solve the things only you can solve. Lord, we know you alone are the author of hope, we are not able to create a perfect world, and when we try it ends in selfish boasting and other problems. When we were more dedicated to you, we at least recognized the need for civil discourse and those who truly followed you would proclaim the need for us to be free, and we could look past our faults, but now we have so many people who are so full of faults, and yet they attack each other so vigorously. Lord, we repent of our search for people who just worry about more or fewer laws and instead ask your Holy Spirit to move int he hearts of the people of this country to turn to you.
"Lord, as part of that turning to you, we admit to 400 years of sin in our land, that we have not treated others with respect, we have not established true justice for all, we have created a backward system and despire the revivals you brought centuries ago, we kept trusting in outward appearances and slogans and di not repent of our wicked thoughts toward others. For that, Lord, we repent and turn back to you and trust you to cleanse us from these stains.
"Lord, our actions have brought about spirits of discord, of bitterness, of anger. Our focus on the things of this world have caused us to lose sight of that which unites us, that being the cross at the foot of which all truly are equal. We have fought over jobs and neighborhoods and things instead of acceptign others as equals and being united in a common cause, that of sharing sweet fellowship with you and lovingly leading others to Christ so they, too, can know that forgiveness and love you give to all who put their trust in you.
"Lord, we ask humbly that you would eliminate this spirit of discord and bitterness and anger and violence and rioting, and instead bring a spirit of peace and calm and comfort to all Americans.
"Lord, we pray that you would foster a spirit of communication between all Americans, that we would learn learn to get along with one another int he way you proclaim it, for we are not "us" and "the other" but we truly are to be "one another," united in hope for each other and sharing that wonderful fruit of the Spirit, bestowing love, joy, peace, gentleness, and so on to all and learn about each other and coming to treat one another in a civil manner the way we should.
"Lord, we also see much oppression in certain specific areas, too, and it is for those things we pray an end, also, for you say to go boldly - not brashly but with confidence you will hear and heal our land, because your people pray. And, Lord, with these specifics, please help us to remember to pray consistently as these will be spiritual battles which will take time.
"Lord we pray for an end to racism in our police, we pray for those who have betrayed the people by harming innocents to be brought to justice, and we will trust in your perfect justice, but we also ask you to end the violence against blacks and others who don't pose a threat, Lord, work in the police departments and give them the desire to constantly work to ensure that they don't have police who will do these things. Lord, please protect all those blacks and African-Americans and turn Black lives Matter into a cause that is moved by the Holy Spirit to cry out to you and to invite white people to join just as was done in the 1960s and which will help the police who are doing their jobs. Lord, we also pray for the protection of the police and an end to the slaying of all innocent people.
"Lord, please heal our inner cities, rebuild families and give women and youth encouragement to be the leaders where needed, as you did the Shunemmite in 2 Kings 4:8 onward, that our youth may have good role models who are Godly people, and turn our culture away from the terrible pain, heal that pain and agony, Lord, so we may not be hurting each other so much, we cry out to you for an end to all of the inner city problems through jobs that matter, that can give us hope, so we can truly make a difference and be free from the scourge of drugs and such. Lord, please trn hearts to end the violence gaisnt women and minorities and children and everyone.
"Lord we really pray for an end to all of this violence and rioting and destructiveness. Lord, we beg you in Jesus' name, do not allow the devil to have his way in this land, please prevent the forces of darkness from increasing the pain, but instead bring an end to those organiers who have agendas of destruction and instead raise up people who have agendas of conscientious dialogue who can and will truly accomplish things to heal this divide.
Lord, we have focused so much on worldly goods, and we repent of that focus on that and ignoring the thigns of God, family and kindness and peace, help us to be content with such things as we have, but at the same time cause the rich to also be content and not be demanding more than they should; Lord you know the role you have for each of us and we pray you will help each of us to have that peace and not ignore the fact you do call us to be able to own thigns - hence the admonition never to steal or covet - but you also call on us to not oppress the poor, so please, Lord, end the oppression that occurs so much. please heal the divide between rich and poor and cause people to all focus on building treasures in Heaven by giving to those causes which will help those that are in need.
"Lord, we further pray for a healing of the divide which has occurred because of gender inequality, Lord help us to recognize that you have a specific plan for each of our lives, and that is to be treated lovingly and with compassion and never to be seen as objects, which is true for all, male and female. Lord, we ask you to end porn and all devient sexual stuff, send your Holy Spiritt to convict our hearts and set them right. Lord, we pray that you will send a calming spirit to those who feel agitated and stirred up by the harsh and even evil words of some leaders, and at the same time that those leaders would repent and no longer say or do evil but will instead humbly allow you to work int heir hearts and make them more loving and compassionate toward others.
"Indeed, Lord, increase the compassion of all of us, but at the same time help us to realize that you do call sin as sin for a reason, and please help us to remain steadfast against the sin in this land, that it may be stopped and that your ways would be established as right in our hearts, and that you would see to it that people are protected no matter what they believe and that our freedom to worship you and practice our faith not be curtailed, as you say in Your Word and as our Constitution says, too.
"Lord, please also send a spirit of calm over all those who protest the most recent election, that instead of worrying about who is in power we instead work to make this world better, because with all of this bitterness and anger there is so little hope, but when we have effective communication where we know things will be better we do hve hope, and so I pray that a spirit of peace and a willingness to discuss solutions instead of complaining about problems be evident in each and every person. Lord, change the hearts of our leaders where they need changed to fully come along what you will for us, those who do not know You may they truly come to know youpersonally as their Saviour, and may all who know you be drawn closer to you. may they be torn away from false gods and realize that you are the God of love, and may they be drawn to you and receive you by faith alone for perfect peace and stability int hese troubled times. May those who are on the fence renounce their ties to the New Age stuff and the worldly system some have and instead may they lean wholly on you, knowing you will win in the end; indeed you have already wont he victory.
"We also pray that if there are any scandals that justice would be done and that you would be glorified in showing that actions have consequences. Indeed, Lord, we pray for the hearts of all those in power be brought to you.
"Lord, you provided a great revival to break out int he late 1850s because 2 businessmen began to meet to pray at lunch in New York City and it spread; Lord, may we see the same attitude in business today, that people would stop beign greedy and that they would stop mistreating any employees.
"Lord, may people further grow those fruits of the Spirit and be honest, gentle, considerate, not backbiting, and in general may we all become more Christlike instead.
"Indeed, Lord, we pray for an end to all the terrible abuse and misuse of people, especially sexually, may you protect all those who can't protect themselves, and may you work in every situation to ensure that our children are safe fromt he effects of demonic forces which are out to seduce them into thinking they hve no hope; provide them with hope, Lord, may they see you at work and sense ou are real, may they all call on you to save them nd if the Rapture is close then I pray they will all be saved, because there are so many who have not been able to hear clearly to make a decision because of the terrible exploitation which goes on, the wful stealing of their innocence by a cruel and wicked world bent on making them think they are accidents when in fact each of us is created by God for a very special purpose, each of us is special to You, Lord. Indeed, we pray for an end to all the harm being done by our education system and for you to end the problems of bullying there, too, by teaching young people to value others as you, Lord, value them.
"Lord I'm sorry for all the evil that has come before, which we ask you to heal in humble repentance today. Lord, there are countless other sins I have not mentioned, so while a calming spirit int he crowds surrounding this electionand its aftermath are the main focus of this prayer, along with some other things, I ask you too, Lord, to please work in our hearts for other things in this revival, that many people will turn their hearts toward you and away fromt he many sins that have befallen our nation. May you bring us a great repentance revival and help me to accept if there are things that maybe aren't in your timetable or that maybe I'm wrong about, kindly help me to understand and at least accept your ways are higher than my ways, as the sky is higher than the seas.
"Lord, please give us that great repentance revival we need, not because we deserve it, not because we hve earned it, not because of our history, but only because of who You are, the God of grace and mercy who is slow to anger and whose mercies are new every morning, who is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
"Lord, please bring many individuals to repentance and to salvation in you, please end this spirit of fear and terror and discord and bring to us a spirit of love, of peace, of unity in you, and end the terrible protests and riots and instead bring us to all want to follow and praise you for your ultimate victory over evil. Lord, please bring us a spirit of acceptance of others not becasue of some political correctness but becuase of the civility you call us to have in loving others, so we can be more like you. Lord, please tear down the walls of hostility and fear but isntead help us to share with others how to work within the existing law to have civil discourse, and give us the freedom to be able to share Christ's love with others and may be receive gldly. Please, oh Lord, forgive us for our sins. For today, Lord, we turn from our sins as a nation, and trust you to forgive us and save us and heal our land. In Jesus' precious name, Amen."
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