Praying for our nation

[nwink]

Many of our godly forefathers spoke about not just confessing our personal sins but also those of our nation. A clear example always thought of in this regard is that of godly Daniel, for example. However, something that has always confused me is that Israel was a nation covenanted with God and essentially one people...whereas the USA is not one people covenanted with God. The issue is not that all people in our nation are unfaithful to their covenant obligations but rather we are a nation-state with people from all countries and religions. Of course I know we should pray and weep for those who do not know and love God, but it seems strange for me to pray and confess their sin. (I mean, and Daniel only prayed for the Jews rather than confessing the sins of the nation in which they'd been brought into captivity. So should we just confess the sins of the Church? Would the countries of our Puritan forefathers not have been countries under the solemn league and covenant (or at least a professed Protestant nation by virtue of the ruling power) and thus they were confessing the sins of an unfaithful people?)

I would appreciate some insight into the basis of confessing the sins of our nation-state as this is an issue that has been very confusing for me. Thank you!

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

In some fashion I pray for spiritual revival and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in and on our Nation every week in my Pastoral Prayer. I think it is very important for Christians to seek the "Christianizing" of their society and a God-fearing people. Most of the Prophets spent plenty of time excoriating the non-Israelite nations for their sins (as a Nation) and calling them to repentance (i.e. - "For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment.."). We have an entire book (Jonah) focused on calling a non-Israelite Nation, as a Nation, to repent and believe. I see no reason why we should not do similarly in our day.

Nearly all the Puritans spent large parts of their work calling on Nations, as Nations, to repent from their wickedness and turn to God.

 

[lynnie]

4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

I take Jeremiah 29 as an example. I think you are theologically correct that the Daniel example would refer to the American or global church, not a political nation. I don't think you need to feel any obligation to identify with and confess the sins of the pagans around us, but we can do that for the church (I do it all the time).

But you can still pray for the welfare of this nation, because it affects God's people. Jobs, freedom to homeschool, healthcare......all sorts of things in our future are related to what happens on a national level. We might get thrown in jail some day for hate crimes if we say sodomy is wrong or Islam is a false religion. I pray our freedoms continue.

 

[GulfCoast Presbyterian]

It seems most appropriate to me to pray America and other nations turn and pray "As the Lord lives. . . " as noted in places like Jeremiah 12:14-17 and others.

14 Thus says the Lord: “Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 16 And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people. 17 But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says the Lord. NKJV

 

[Southern Presbyterian]

Amen.

 

[DeniseM]

Nathan, you pose a great question and one that I've been wondering about lately too.

I think what I've gotten from the posts made so far, is that we should confess the sins of the church as members of the church and pray for our nation and the nations abroad to be drawn to Christ and turn from their sins(paganism, idolatry) to the glory of God the Father. Please correct me, if I have summarized this incorrectly.

 

[Galatians220]

We might get thrown in jail some day for hate crimes if we say sodomy is wrong or Islam is a false religion.

Yes. I don't think the day is far off for the criminalization of either. For example, here's what's going on in a couple of days:

Democrats host radical Muslims at Charlotte

Christians deny the persecution that's coming at their own and the country's peril. May the Lord still be pleased to gather His own to safety.

 

[Rich Koster]

Last Sunday night I asked for forgiveness for all of the nonsense and lies the "church" in America has exported all over the world. I asked for another Great Awakening. The amount of trash being hawked with Jesus' name attached to it is quite appalling.

 

[crixus]

I am seriously concerned about America's future no matter who wins the election, because the choice of a Socialist or a Mormon is depressing. More prayer is definitely needed!

 

[Arch2k]

Hi Nathan,

One thing to consider is how God views the institutions of Church and State. Ministers in our heritage have taught that the State is viewed as a moral person or agent, and therefore has the obligation to repent of her sins and submit to Christ as King. Nations have the duty to obey his law, whether they are covenanted with him or not. We covenant with God because we are a moral person, not the other way around. We, as members of these God ordained institutions need to repent of the sins of all of which we belong to, because God judges the moral person (or collective unit) for her sins, not just individuals. In the same way, if a nation is godly, and prospers because of the Lord's blessing, the ungodly living in the land will prosper with it. This is true of the church as well. There are many hypocrites in the church who reap the benefits of the covenant community, while heaping damnation on themselves individually. God blesses and judges nations AS nations (i.e. all those in it).

Below is a link to some quotes about the nation being a moral person:
What Is A Moral Person? How God Views the Church and the Nations

 

[lynnie]

Jeff...interesting. I sent that to somebody as it was new to me. Got this in reply:

Paul was a citizen of Rome, whose official religion was emperor worship, and he invoked his rights as a Roman citizen on occasion, but nowhere do we see him judged as guilty of emperor worship or repenting of it. He instructed his readers to pray for kings and those in authority but nowhere instructed them to repent of national sin. Jesus and John the Baptist addressed centurions and tax collectors, who were charged with carrying out the official policies of the government, but while there was a call for repentence for personal sin (e.g. taking more in taxes than required and keeping the difference), even these official agents of the government were not called to repent of national sin.

I am not sure we see this in the New Covenant: We, as members of these God ordained institutions need to repent of the sins of all of which we belong to, because God judges the moral person (or collective unit) for her sins, not just individuals.

I continue to pray for America that God would grant the gift of repentance and bring salvation in huge numbers. And if you want to repent as part of the sinful moral person/agent that you see America as, I don't think I would discourage that. But I don't know that we see an apostolic pattern for it either so I would not require it of anyone....if anything, would it not go against the regulative principle if we don't see it in the NT church?

We do see calls for the church to repent though, and even if not every single person in the churches in Revelation or Corinthians had succumbed to the problems, and not all of us have succumbed to every problem in the church at large, I am all for repenting on behalf of the church. That seems more biblical to me.

 

[rbcbob]

We are commanded as Christians in whatever nation and under whatever form of government to pray for those in authority over us:

1 Timothy 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The focus of this prayer is the peace and godliness of the Church relative to its task in the world.

 

[nwink]

We are commanded as Christians in whatever nation and under whatever form of government to pray for those in authority over us:

Bob, the specific question being discussed is not whether we should pray for those in authority...but whether we should confess their sins and the sins of the nation as our own.