If You Pray, the Time is Now--40 Days of Prayer

At church yesterday morning I heard a sermon that was just what I needed, given my pessimistic mood of late about American voters and the upcoming election.

The minister spoke of the numerous instances in the Bible and in history that individuals and groups of people overcame overwhelming odds to beat back attempts to bring them to ruin.

One can't help but think about the political career of Abraham Lincoln as an example. Lincoln lost numerous elections in his career prior to being elected President. And he faced seemingly insurmountable odds as he was referred to by his opponents as a scoundrel and much worse.

Yet Lincoln persisted until he won.

Harry Truman is a modern-day Presidential example--the only Democrat that has been worth supporting in the last 70 years.

As I thought about the relationship of that basic premise to this year's election, I wondered if perhaps this were another such time, one of those shining moments when the underdogs seemed defeated beyond all hope only to rise from the ashes to a glorious victory.

Many churches are engaging in something called '40 Days of Prayer' from now until the November election. The objective of this season of prayer is 3-fold: 1). To ask for Divine intervention, 2). To energize Christians to work hard for what's right and not necessarily for
what's popular, and 3). To ask for strength to beat back the forces of darkness and tyranny that would rob citizens of God-given freedom in the name of 'giving' them financial prosperity.

Interestingly, yesterday was the day that many churches in many denominations across the country engaged in civil disobedience by defying the IRS in speaking out about politics in general and politicians by name.

The IRS currently forbids ministers from engaging in partisan political rhetoric from pulpits, even when such things clearly involve moral-ethical-spiritual issues. As part of today's big government statism, the IRS will revoke the tax-exempt status of any church where the minister engages in freedom of speech when it comes to politics.

Many churches on Sunday decided to participate in what is called 'Freedom of the Pulpit' Sunday to defy such Nazi-like prohibitions on free speech.

It is not by accident that the beginning of the 40 Days of Prayer for the election and Freedom of the Pulpit Sunday fell on the same day. The 2 are irrevocably intertwined.

When the citizens allow tyranny to gain a foothold in government, freedom of speech suffers.

By the way, don't forget that Barack Obama is attempting to silence television ads that are critical of him by threatening legal action against the stations that run them.

This is the mindset of tyrants.

Thus, if you pray, now is the time to engage in serious prayer for this country. If you don't pray but believe in the cause, then you can participate in the 40 Days by engaging in meditation or positive thoughts a few minutes a day on behalf of your country.

And then, act!