A National Way of Prayer

An edited version of this piece was originally published at Intercessors for America

“So what shall I do?  I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding.”

Paul to the Christians in Corinth.  I Cor. 14:15

Many believe that the health and stability of our Republic is under siege.  We are beholding a fevered assault against Constitutional liberty and a relentless buffeting against the principles and formularies this nation was founded on.  Numerous reasons and indicators corroborate the urgency of this claim, which means this Thursday’s National Day of Prayer may be the most crucial mobilization of intercession the United States has ever seen.

In I Chronicles 12:32, of all the tribes listed that served King David in wartime, only the sons of Issachar were described as, “Men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”    Likewise, to effectually intercede for our Nation, we must understand and perceive the pernicious powers at work in these days of strife and deception.

To properly discern what is happening here in America, it is vital to understand what is happening around the world.  Anti-Christ mandates are being implemented by many foreign governments at the behest of a powerful oligarchy of elites who are intent on subverting independent nations into unified globalization.  A cursory reading of the books and materials published by The World Economic Forum will provide a crucial understanding of what is happening across the globe and subsequently unfolding here in America.

Here are just a handful of global initiatives that are wreaking havoc in our homeland:

• Open borders

• Reckless monetary policy

• Unwillingness to lead in brokering peace

• Virulent promotion of abortion

• Anti-family policies specific to gender, sexuality, and marriage

• Refusal to rigorously investigate claims of election fraud

• Capitulation to the World Health Organization edicts

• Coordinated suppression of free speech

• Fomenting racism and division through DEI initiatives

• Promoting unscientific climate claims and implementing dangerous energy policies

In response to this growing evil, what shall we do?  Paul first tells us to pray with our spirit.  So as our knees hit the floor in the hallway and we slide desperately into our bedside, our spirit is engaged as we cry out for justice, mercy, favor, and prosperity.

But Paul also tells us to pray with understanding.  To intercede for our nation with understanding, we must devote ourselves to learning the truth of these matters.  This is why IFA carefully curates important news articles, prophetic insights, and political commentary with a Kingdom perspective.  It is all designed to equip you, the intercessor, with a deep sense of understanding so you can better discern the days we are living in.

Be An Evangelist for Prayer

As a worship leader and church planter, I’ve learned how challenging it can be to cultivate a transcendent experience of corporate worship on Sunday mornings.  One of the primary hindrances is when much of the congregation spends little or no time in personal worship during the week.  How can we expect the glory of the Lord to fill the temple on Sunday morning when we have not tended to the fire on the altar in our homes?

Likewise, our prayer meetings will lack corporate power and prophetic precision when our prayer closets at home become devoid of our breath or relegated for storage.

So the first way to bolster robust intercession at a National Day of Prayer gathering is to be filled to overflowing in our personal practice of prayer.  Second, we should be regularly toiling, laboring, and travailing with others in a weekly prayer meeting.

Just as the prayer closet is the engine room of the prayer meeting, the prayer meeting is intended to be the engine room of the church.  It is confounding that the least attended meeting in the church is too often the prayer meeting.

When you find a church that has a dedicated room for prayer during the week, you have most likely found a church that is also disciplined in prayer, intimate in worship, and engaged with local, state, and national concerns.

In Pastor Jim Cymbala’s influential book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, he describes the dry, arduous journey of Brooklyn Tabernacle’s early years.  Sunday services were sparsely attended, but he committed to hold a prayer meeting every Tuesday evening.  Jim’s plea before God was that they would experience signs, wonders, and miracles.  The people who came to pray were sincere and disciplined, but everyone remained waiting for a tangible move of God.

Pastor Cymbala’s daughter, Chrissy, had rebelled against her parents, rejected the Lord, and ran away from home for an extended period.  The pain of her parents was insurmountable as they could only imagine where she had disappeared to on the streets of New York City.  Yet, they faithfully held that small prayer meeting every week.

In one of the Tuesday night meetings, Jim confessed his pain over Chrissy and the people began to pray with fervency.  A few nights later, Chrissy showed up on the doorstep, collapsed into her father’s arms, and asked for forgiveness.  As jubilant as this reunion was, what happened next was even more glorious.

Cymbala writes, “A few seconds later, she pulled back startled and said, ‘Daddy, who was praying for me?  On Tuesday night, who was praying for me?’”

It was the power of the prayer meeting.

The testimony of answered prayer and Chrissy’s miracle rippled through the church and surged throughout the community.  Not long after, Brooklyn Tabernacle began experiencing geometric growth combined with a refreshed revelation of The Lord’s Presence among them.

If the prayer meeting is the engine room of the church, then the church is the engine room of the National Day of Prayer!

This Is The Hour Of The Church

The prophet Isaiah certainly understood the days he was living in and may have foreseen the days we are living in.  He opens chapter 60 with great understanding.  “See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you.” (Verse 2)

Though Isaiah rightly discerned the evil and wickedness of his day, his perspective was overwhelmingly captured by the radiance of The Lord shining through His people.  As believers in Christ who are filled with His Holy Spirit, we are not depressed by the darkness but are impressed with the glory of His rising presence.  And from this awareness and position, prayer warriors across the country will plead their case and lift their prayers fervently to the Lord.

The church cannot be silent about the perils of globalism and anti-Christ ideologies because the Kingdom of God is the only antidote to this growing darkness.  Even more so, the church is the place where “the peoples” who are oppressed in darkness can behold and experience the rising glory of the Lord amidst His people.

Therefore, this National Day of Prayer is a clarion call to all believers to take their place in the public square and be counted among those who fear the Lord.  May we boldly invite many people to join this historic event.  May we be like the sons of Issachar and pray with great understanding.  May our prayer closets burn bright and our prayer meetings experience signs and wonders.  May this National Day of Prayer be remembered for generations to come as the turning point of this nation.

And as we declare the righteousness of God in our towns this Thursday and pray for our country, may we remember Isaiah’s promise and pray this is true of America again:

“Nations will come to your great light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”

(Verse 3)