Today has been designated as the National Day of Prayer.  All over the country today there will be special services of prayer for our country.  We will focus on the importance of prayer during our monthly meeting of Marketshare today at 12:00 noon.   We are also having a special prayer service for our country this evening at 7:00 p.m.  We will have some times of directed prayer along with some music from our choir and orchestra.  It makes a very clear statement when we make such a service a priority.  Come as you are, bring your kids.  This will be a powerful, meaningful, and very important service.

I can never remember a time when it has been more important for God’s people to be consistent in our prayers for our country.  With each passing day, our culture seems to be heading away from what God would have us to be as a nation.  We talk about the Lord and we give lip service to God, but as a country we live in complete rebellion.  When we get in trouble, we say that we depend on God.  At the same time, we seem to be concentrating on wiping out any mention or emphasis on Him.  We have to understand that we cannot have it both ways.  It is impossible for us to depend on Him and ignore Him in our daily living.

We will hear a lot about prayer today.  Because we have become such a humanistic people, there will be all types of conversation about how we should be focused on prayer through our many religious traditions.  There will be all types of religions that will be focused on prayer.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we must be reminded that there is only one God and the only way that we can be guaranteed of having a relationship with God is through Jesus Christ.  God has promised to hear our prayers when we come to Him in the name of Jesus.  God can certainly hear any prayer that He wants to hear and He is especially attuned to the sinner’s prayer that accepts Christ as Savior.  In His Word He has promised to hear the prayer of the follower of Christ because Jesus is the only way to God.

It is important that we are reminded of this.  While there will be a lot of talk about prayer today, the followers of Christ are the ones that come to Him in spirit and truth and it is that type of prayer that can really make a difference in our country.  The rest of it is only going through the motions.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the father except through me.”  That is the truth.  This gives to us tremendous opportunity and, at the same time, great responsibility to be a people of prayer.  On this day of prayer, I pray we will be true prayer warriors.  I look forward to seeing you tonight.