National Day of Prayer

So I've been asked to help lead the National Day of Prayer here in Perry at the City Hall at 12:00 PM. It's a great honor and a little nerve racking at the same time, but it's all good. As one friend reminded me, I've done this before and it was on a grander stage. When I youth pastored in Douglas, my pastor (Rev. Jesse Ogden) was asked to speak in front of the courthouse steps for the National Day of Prayer. Douglas' courthouse is right in the center of a busy downtown intersection. They had it hooked up with a podium and a microphone. I looked forward to going and being a part of this. But then Bro. Ogden had an emergency pop up with a member and he had to go out of town to the hospital. So it fell on me. I studied hard, prayed harder, and everything seemed to go great. A lot of folks said they really enjoyed the message I delivered that day. It was definitely an awesome experience.

Today will be a little different. We'll be inside a city hall chamber room. There won't really be much speaking as much as there will be praying. Still it's an honor, and still, I'm pretty nervous. I take these opportunities very seriously because not only do I represent me, but I represent the church and our people.

The National Day of Prayer is extremenly important and should be to all of us. Amongst all the freedoms that our forefathers came to this country to give us and amongst all of the rights they died and gave their life's blood to protect, that of Christianity and prayer was of the utmost importance. Many declared that our nation was founded on Christianity as they noted 27 Biblical violations in the crown's treatment of them. Noah Webster could literally quote the Bible chapter and verse. James Madision reckoned that our future would be our ability to keep to the Ten Commandments. George Washington stated that we couldn't hope to have national morality apart from religious principle. Patrick Henry was very clear in stating that it was God who gave us this nation and it is He whom we should serve.

As many of our Christian rights have been and are being trampled under the fake guise of love, acceptance, and unity, let us take advantage of the one day that our nation has set aside as a fossil to our forefathers. For if we as Christians don't take seriously the one day that our government gives us, then are we not just as guilty as Madeline Murray O'Hare who single handedly had prayer removed from the school systems via her lawsuit? If you can't attend City Hall today, that's understandable as we all have to work. But wherever you are at 12 today, stop and have prayer. Set an example. Organize a prayer meeting at your job for a few minutes.

George Washington believed you couldn't call yourself an American if you went against the Bible. So today, let's all be the best Americans we can be . . . . .