A friend sent me this today, long but worth the read, very - TopicsExpress

A friend sent me this today, long but worth the read, very encouraging, Lord please bless this country... PRAY FOR THIS COUNTRY There is a nation whose people are statistically the most generous people on earth. Whose gifts to charitable causes exceed $260 billion annually – an amount greater than the economies of many industrialized countries.* There is a nation whose people adopt more orphaned and abandoned children from abroad – regardless of their race or color - than any other nation. In fact, over 2 million of its citizens, 18 years and younger, were born in other countries but were adopted by loving people of this most compassionate nation. There is a nation whose armed forces do not fight wars of conquest, but only to deliver the oppressed and defend the helpless. And although its Army possesses devastating power, its soldiers find their greatest satisfaction bringing relief to the victims of catastrophe, performing humanitarian operations, and delivering clothes and toys to children. There is a nation whose borders must be guarded, not to keep its people from escaping, but to control the flood of immigrants hungry for its limitless opportunities for a better life. There is a nation whose enduring ability to self-govern has been praised by historians for more than two centuries. In fact, 160 years ago the famed French historian and statesman Alexis de Tocqueville came from his own country, ravaged by revolutions and political upheavals, to find out how this special nation had managed to make democracy work. His ten-year exhaustive study led him to conclude, that the secret of this nation’s greatness was the inherent goodness, cooperation, and mercy of its people. This special nation of which I speak, this most generous nation, this most compassionate – yet most powerful – nation is America. As one sage put it, “America is great because America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, it will cease to be great.” Fortunately, America – by the grace of God - remains both good and great. Americans remain the most compassionate and generous people on the planet, and they remain the hope of every oppressed people. Just listen to the timeless testimony of Richard Wurmbrand – a man who was tortured for his faith for 14 years in Romanian prison camps during its Communist regime. He writes, “Every freedom-loving man has two fatherlands: his own and America. Today, America is the hope of every enslaved man, because it is the last bastion of freedom in the world. Only America has the power and spiritual resources to stand as a barrier between militant Communism, terrorism, and the people of the free world. …I have seen fellow prisoners in Communist prisons beaten, tortured, with 50 pounds of chains on their legs – praying for America … that America will not fall and will remain free.” Never forget. America remains a prayer of hope on the lips of the oppressed. Therefore, it behooves every person of faith - who lives in or benefits from America – to pray for this country. Never believe that America is “too corrupt, too perverse, or too far gone.” God was willing to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah from judgment if He could find only ten righteous people in them (Genesis 18:32). Will He not therefore bless America that has millions of those who believe in and love God, if we pray to God on its behalf, as God commanded us to do (1 Timothy 2:1-4)? PRAYER: Almighty and Merciful Father, from whom all blessings flow, we pray for the United States of America, that You will bless our land, heal our many divisions, and mend our every flaw. Please, dear Lord, raise up godly men and women to fill the ranks of leadership in our government that America may be led on the path of righteousness. Give heavenly wisdom to our leaders and help them to resolve the perplexing problems of our world. Above all, O God, pour out Your Spirit upon us and breath a revival in our land. Turn the hearts of Americans everywhere to you in faith and repentance and to each other in love and reconciliation. O God of glory, raise America to true greatness and grant it supreme success as Your instrument of peace and your torch of freedom throughout the world. Amen.