Lord of the Universe. Lord of this planet. Lord of the nations. Lord of our hearts.
On this National Day of Prayer, we look to You…
In the darkness, You are our Light.In the storm, You are our Anchor.
In our weakness, You are our Strength. In our grief, You are our Comfort.
In our despair, You are our Hope.
In our confusion, You are our Wisdom. In time of terrorism, You are our Shield. In time of war, You are our Peace.
In times of uncertainty, You are the Rock on which we stand.
We make our prayer to You using the words of the prophet Daniel:
O Lord, You are the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments. You are merciful and forgiving. You are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame because we have sinned against You, and done wrong. We have turned away from Your commands and principles. We have turned away from You.
Yet You have promised in 2 Chronicles 7, that if we–a people identified with You–would humble ourselves, pray, seek Your face, and turn from our wicked ways, then You would hear our prayer, forgive our sin and heal our land.
So we choose to stop pointing our finger at the sins of others, and examine our own hearts and lives. We choose to acknowledge our own sin–our neglect and defiance and ignorance and even rejection of You. This day we choose to repent.
In response to our heartfelt repentance, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Father of Jesus Christ, in keeping with all Your righteous acts and according to Your promise, turn away Your anger and Your wrath from the United States of America. Hear the prayers and petitions offered to You on this National Day of Prayer, as we give You our full attention. Give ear, our God, and hear; open Your eyes and see. We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy.
For the glory of Your Name hear our prayer, forgive our sin, and heal our land.
We ask this in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ who offers us salvation from Your judgment, forgiveness for our sin, and reconciliation with You through His own blood shed on the Cross. Amen.
- 2014 National Prayer by Anne Graham Lotz
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Hi Anne thank you so much for your prayer. I am from the UK and use this prayer for my own Country hope you don't mind
Alan. Watkins
WtknsAlan@aol.com
Anne wrote it for the US National Day of Prayer ... but glad you can use it!
I belong to a local prayer group called C. H.O. P. Cascade House of Prayer
We are joining together to pray in our area at different sights for our community, and unity among believers on May 1. We meet weekly for Prayer at our house of prayer, Praying for a 10 mile radius, for the people, the churches and leaders of all churches in our area for rescue from sin and help where needed in health, and welfare . Anne thank you for your prayer that will help us pray effectively.
AMEN.
Hi Sis. Anne,
So thankful to our GOD for the the prayer, even I am Filipino i will include your ministry on my prayer.
I m also belong to the National Movement here on Philippines, some people maybe knows the IFP (Intercessors for the Philippines). Im much appreciated if you keeping me up-dates on prayer items.
for some info follow on FB: Intercessors-for-the-Philippines-Inc
God bless your ministry..in Jesus name..amen
MIDDLETOWN, Calif., April 24, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- We have an acute spiritual problem in this nation which has infected not only our politics but our entire culture. Our once Godly nation is rapidly sliding into a moral morass because we have looked to men, not God, and have followed other idols. Only sincere, humble repentance within the Body of Christ---turning away from the ways of the world and the flesh and seeking instead God's purity and holiness----will trigger God's promise to "hear from heaven, and forgive sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14.
The problems are found in every person, every family, and every nation.
Repentance is neither a penance, nor a punishment, but a unique privilege from the Lord to come into His Kingdom (Matthew 4:17) and then into His Presence to grow in His holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16) and become overcomers (Revelation 3:19-21).
Repentance is not just an individual privilege but serves to move God's Providence for a nation through a sacred solemn assembly. Following precedent in American Christian history dating back to 1774, Wednesday April 30 will mark another National Day of Repentance. Participation is simple. In prayer closets, Bible studies, or church services, Christians at the grassroots will have, like Nehemiah, the opportunity to take time that day to confess their sins, to repent humbly and sincerely, to "afflict their souls" for themselves, for their families, for their nation.
In this repentance process, those who are not just praying, but sincerely repenting will experience joy for their sins being forgiven and the immediate growth in His Righteousness. (Psalm 23:3) Instead of being lukewarm they will draw closer to Christ. (Revelation 3:14-22). Instead of a spirit of division, the Body of Christ will experience the unity of the Holy Spirit. On April 30 the Bride of Christ will have a unique opportunity to unify, awaken and purify herself for the Bridegroom's soon return.
This April 30 is especially powerful because the next day, May 1, is the National Day of Prayer. We will have a 48 hour "window" to choose to restore our Godly roots. In addition, this 48-hour window for repentance, fasting and prayer will be observed not only in the USA, but also by intercessors in another 30+ nations who have already joined the National Day of Repentance through our website.
(www.dayofrepentance.org).
To learn more, or to schedule an interview, contact us at jdalylaw@aol.com or (707) 987-9082.
In Matthew 7:7, God entreats us, urges us, importunes us, even commands us to pray! Our nation and our world are in big trouble. There are no solutions this side of heaven. During a time of national apostasy, the Lord seeks a man to stand in the gap, Ezekiel 22:30 says, "And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it." I hear the distant voice of God calling again.
“I am learning that prayer is not so much asking God to change ‘things’ for our gratification, but rather asking Him to change US for His glory.”
For more, read below...
"The Best Target on the National Day of Prayer"
Recently, a friend of mine was enjoying a round on an unfamiliar golf course. He became confused on a particular hole and hit his tee shot toward the green of a different hole. It was a great stroke, very straight and with good distance. One problem – he shot at the wrong green. It is hard to play a winning game when you get confused about the correct target.
Our Prayer Targets
This week many of us will participate in the National Day of Prayer. As we enjoy this privilege of uniting our hearts and voices with other believers, I hope we will be aiming at the best target. Rather than asking God to change our country, our leaders, and our culture, I wonder if we should be spending more time asking the Lord to change us. I am learning that prayer is not so much asking God to change “things” for our gratification, but rather asking Him to change US for His glory.
Of course, God has ordained prayer as the means by which we join Him in His work to see Him move and provide for His glory. Yet, when we pray for other issues and miss the primary need to become more like Christ as we pray, we are shortsighted. When we pray about the ills of the world and do not confront the darkness in us so that His light may shine in great power on a Gospel-deprived world, we are irresponsible prayer warriors.
The means by which Christ intends to transform this broken world is through word-saturated, Spirit-filled, and Gospel-passionate believers. Prayer is our vital transforming exercise and empowering discipline in order to see this occur. Let’s examine a few passages, one that is especially relevant to our prayers for our nation.
Praying for my persecutors or for my perfection?
In Matthew 5:44, Jesus told His followers, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” So what might it look like to pray for our antagonists and persecutors? What would be the purpose of these prayers? Look at the next verse (v. 45), “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Could it be that as we pray for these enemies, we are the ones who change? After Jesus elaborates more fully on this idea in the following verses, He concludes, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (v. 48). It seems the goal of praying for our persecutors is not that they change, but that we change, becoming more like our Father in heaven.
Luke 23:34 records Jesus praying for those who were crucifying Him. He cried, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Of course, the crowd did not recant or take Jesus down from the cross with profuse apologies for their unjust infliction of suffering. Rather, Jesus' prayer in that moment was a demonstration of grace and mercy, to the glory of the Father.
Acts 7:58-60 records Stephen praying for those who were stoning him as he declared with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin." In his final breath, he was a recipient and announcer of amazing grace. Perhaps our prayer for persecutors is not so much that they will change so that we might be more comfortable, but rather that we might change in order to more fully demonstrate Christ.
Praying for the harvest or praying for my own heart?
In Matthew 9:37-10:1, Jesus speaks from His compassionate heart as He gives an admonition to pray. He is with His disciples while they are witnessing the compelling needs of the masses. He says, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
Hearing this, most of us would genuinely begin to pray for someone else to answer that call – the young people, the educated, the jobless. We might say, “Lord, open their eyes to the need and let them be available to Your will.” This is a good prayer – but we might be missing the target.
In the very next verse, the text reads, “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” Verse five says, “These twelve He sent out.” So we see that the prayers for the harvest actually were in heart preparation to be personally sent. Too often we want God to work on the mission field by strengthening the missionaries, sending someone else to go, and somehow providing through others – when God may actually be trying to work in us to send us or bring us to a new level of sacrificial personal involvement.
Praying for our leaders or praying for my lifestyle?
A third illustration is found in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, a passage from which many of us have prayed on the National Day of Prayer. Paul writes, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority.” This is a vital command. But what do we pray about and why? Notice the next verse: “...that WE may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Notice the emphasis. The goal of our prayers is that people be saved. How? Does it occur through the politicians or government? No, it happens in and through Christians who are being changed as they pray in order to demonstrate compelling lives of quiet, peaceable, godly, and reverent living. This is the good plan of God to redeem the world.
Changed for His glory so that...
Paul wrote that as we pray, we are transformed continually and powerfully into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). He said that this is the core of our ministry and results in living as servants, declaring Christ as Lord, and manifesting the glorious light and life of Christ to a dark world (read 2 Corinthians 4: 1-7). This life-changing power is the treasure we have in earthen vessels that we may give great glory to God’s power, not to ourselves (2 Corinthians 4:8).
So when we primarily pray that God will change “things”, superintend “events”, or work in “other people”, our prayers may be articulate and well-intentioned, but they miss the target. When we pray in order to be changed, we become the agents of change that can conduct real and lasting transformation in this world through the power of the indwelling and outworking Christ.
Copyright © 2014 Daniel Henderson. All rights reserved.