Praying in Perilous Times

In a couple of days, Believers from all over the nation will gather in Philadelphia for two days of prayer for America. Even though many will view this as a political event, this has nothing to do with politics. Our nation is in serious trouble. The vileness of sin and the hatred against Christians have reached unprecedented levels in our nation. We have nowhere else to turn.

In his letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul wrote, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”  - 2 Timothy 3: 1-5 (NKJV)

These are the words of Jesus: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”  - Matthew 24:4-14 (NKJV)

I wish I could put into words, the urgency that we feel right now. All I know is that we can sense that something horrible is on the horizon and the Spirit of God is calling us to pray NOW. The urgency is beyond words. 

The so-called church growth experts have spoken. Many of us have tried to implement their proven ideas and strategies, but nothing has changed. Church attendance continues to plummet in our nation, while the entertainment industry continues to grow. People are looking for comfort and security. People are looking for wealth and relief.

Even within the four walls of many churches, the congregants are looking for the same things. The only difference is that they are turning to God to try to get Him to give them what they want. But God is not to be mocked in this hour. It’s time to seek God’s FACE and stop seeking His hand, simply asking Him to do stuff and give us stuff to make our lives comfortable. It’s time to chase Him, abandoning all else for His will alone.

We’re not going to start a teaching series about prayer. We’re going to PRAY. For those who have never been in this kind of situation before, I'm just going to encourage them to follow our lead. We’ll have to show them what to do. We’ll teach them as we’re doing it.

I woke up one morning last week singing the old hymn, “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.” If there was ever a time to walk in the reality of that song, this is that time. I feel like I did just before 9/11/01. Back then, I didn’t know what to do with it. Over ten years later, I know what to do this time.