Is our country better off than it was eight years ago?
If your answer is yes then you need not read any further. If your answer is no then you have to ask why?

There are many possible answers.

You could blame political parties, politicians, corporate greed. And certainly all of the above have a share in our troubles
You could blame president Obama, the Supreme Court.
The executive, judicial, and legislative branch of our government, the education system, and the big players in business stand opposed to many Christians values and beliefs. The list is long.
You could add to that list the general public’s lack of knowledge about our political system encouraging apathetic involvement, coupled with Christians lack of involvement, prayer and concern. The end result a political system in place that quite frankly is beyond our power to control no matter who our next president might be.

And that I believe is where  much of the blame rests. Not only the politicians, liberal judges, and a lawless president, but on the shoulders of those of us who have been careless in our care-taking of democracy.
I asked a co-worker  “what do you expect from government”. His reply? “that is a very good question”.
A question he was unable to answer.
More important than “what do we expect from our government, and the politicians we elect to represent us, is the bigger question. What should we expect of one another as citizens of one of the greatest countries on earth?
What is our role in the issues of our day, what is our responsibility to others?
A man named Nehemiah was faced with a similar situation.His homeland, his people, their lives, their freedom, were under the control of the enemies of his God. Nehemiah possibly had forgotten how bad it was, maybe because he had a pretty cushy job with the boss of his people’s oppressors, maybe because the situation in Jerusalem was far away, and time had dulled his awareness.
Whatever the reason Nehemiah’s response when he understood the urgency of the situation was anything but apathetic. I will allow him to speak in his own words.
“When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven”.  Nehemiah fasted and prayed, cried out before God for four months.Nehemiah was broken by what was revealed to him.

Awareness of our own situation is the first step. Are we broken by what we see in our own lives? Are we aware of the walls that has been damaged or destroyed by sin in our lives? Has our temple where the Spirit of God lives become desecrated by the things that we have allowed to take up residence there? If so we need to go into God’s presence confront and confess our sin and allow Him to set us right.

Are we broken by what we see going on in our world?

Are we  broken by poverty, lives destroyed by drug addiction,  lives broken by divorce, sexual immorality and sexual confusion.
Are we broken by the little ones sacrificed on the altar of profit and indifference.
Are we broken by police officers shot down in the streets?
Are we broken by those who have no hope, murdered in the streets of their cities, abandoned by their fathers, abandoned by society, exploited by a system that only values them as votes and a means to power.
Are we broken by the injustice, the hunger, the hopelessness and a thousand other things that tell us we should be.
Or are we like Nehemiah unaware of things that do not touch our world.
Take a look around. What does the heart of God see that you do not?
Most important when you see what will you do?
Will you allow the hurt, the pain to break your heart as it does God’s? Will you allow the brokenness to move you to action to make a difference? Or will you continue to ignore your own brokenness and by your unwillingness to be broken, to be touched by things that do not affect you, contribute to things staying the same.
My voice is an insignificant voice among thousands, hundreds of thousands of voices. But if it reaches ten or 10,000 I want use my voice to encourage you to do what Nehemiah did.

Listen to the voices telling you things are not right, allow yourself to be broken by it and pray. Seek the God of Heaven and see what he will have you do.
I am privileged to be part of a church where the people and the pastor  believe in the power of prayer. I have seen God do amazing things when we have been called to prayer. That power is available to all who will come to Him broken and ask as Isaiah did “Here am I, send me.”

I believe if we begin to call out to God He will listen.
You can begin by calling out to Him now, today, praying for those in your city and your neighborhood.
You can put feet to your prayers for our nation by joining us on September 30th forty days before the presidential election in 40 Days of Prayer for our nation.
You can join our journey of prayer on http://www.facebook.com40daysofprayerforamerica you can pass this on to others who will pray.

You can begin preparing for that commitment today by praying and asking God what He would have you do.
God bless you and God bless and save America