Many of us are, or should be, alarmed about rulings by the supreme court in these days. Our founding Fathers set up a balance of power between three somewhat independent branches of government. But now the Supreme Court of the United States has begun to trump the law and the will of the people apparently without precedent in law or the constitution. They have begun to short-cut our representative government by legislating from the bench. Hence we are losing government of the people by the people and for the people.
I need to say the court has opposed righteousness and the constitution before. In 1858 the Supreme Court ruled that negroes whose ancestors were brought here as slaves had no access to American courts.[1] That ungodly decision helped to throw us into a bloody civil war. On the other hand, I have to admit that I thank God for civil rights decisions that went against the will of voters in southern states in the 1950s. They were on the side of the angels.
I have some crucial advice that those who care about righteousness in our country.
Trust God!
That surely means being confident that He is still sovereign over history. I do not mean to say bad things will not come upon our nation as a result of our sin. Sin is still a disgrace to any people. And the way of the transgressor is hard. But even as terrible things come, God will draw people to His grace, and He will see us through our trials.
Trusting God will also mean standing for what is right even when our laws or judicial rulings tend to normalize evil. We must do our best to stand firm even when all of society seems to be turning against God.
Most importantly people who trust God, will pray. We will pray for our neighbors and neighborhoods. We will pray for the power of holiness in our churches. We will pray for our government and our laws. We will pray for our president and congress as they appoint and approve judges. And yes we will pray for The Supreme Court of The United States. Have you prayed for the court? It is more important to ask, if you will pray for the court. Here are the names of the current Supreme Court Justices. I encourage you to write them in your Bible and pray regularly for each of them.
Justice Clarence Thomas
Chief Justice John G. Roberts
Justice Anthony Kennedy,
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Justice Stephen G. Breyer
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Justice Elena Kagan
Of course there are only eight justices since the untimely death of Antonin Scalia. We also need to pray for the appointment of the ninth justice who will be brought up from a lower court. I believe God will work mightily through our prayers.
Comments
Father, Andrew and I and many others join our hearts together in prayer.
Father, would you please draw the Justices of the Supreme Court to yourself. Give them wisdom that comes not from society or from within, but directly from Your Spirit. Convict them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Convince them, Lord, that there is indeed an objective standard of morality and that it's found in Your Word. Show them the accountability they will have before you for the decisions they make.
Please fill the "empty chair" with a Justice who will rule in righteousness - with someone who is wise in Your ways, someone who is courageous to stand against popular opinion when that opinion is at odds with Your Word, someone who can connect your principles with the cases and decisions faced by the court.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen, Andrew, Amen!
What a timely encouragement, especially as we look forward to the appointment of a replacement for Justice Scalia - which appears that it will wait for the next President.
I've just finished reading Wayne Grudem's Politics According to the Bible, and he emphasizes over and over again the importance of having justices who will go back to the Constitutional duty of interpreting the law, as opposed to making laws like they so often do today. Some of what Grudem has to say about the direction the courts are taking is very discouraging, but he comes back to the very same point that you make - God is sovereign, and he answers the prayers of his people. May we be a praying people!!