National Day of Prayer--May 1
Grace, repentance bring God's healing

Only one thing can redeem America, and we have but one path to follow toward that redemption.

God's grace -- His free gift of forgiveness -- alone will cleanse us of our sin. Only the Holy Spirit's work of turning us from wickedness will restore God's blessings for our families and our land.

Some Americans look for their messiah in political figures such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or John McCain. Some conservatives, unfortunately, expect national salvation from a strict constructionist Supreme Court, a Republican Congress, a constitutional marriage amendment or victory in the "culture wars."

Indeed, our problems -- both individually and nationally -- ultimately arise from spiritual, not political, sickness. Scripture clearly teaches the intimate connection between a country's adherence to God's commands and its national well-being. As Proverbs 14:34 declares, "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." With the stench of our sin testifying against us, we as families, as churches and as a nation need the Holy Spirit to lead us to repentance.

Thursday's National Day of Prayer offers a timely reminder that America needs God's blessing -- and that Americans must pray for forgiveness to escape the Lord's wrath for our sins. Our country's Founding Fathers understood these biblical truths, regularly proclaiming -- often from the same Congress constitutionally prohibited from establishing a national religion -- corporate days of prayer, fasting and repentance.

President James Madison in 1812, responding to a congressional joint resolution, proclaimed "a day of public humiliation and prayer" in which Americans should give the Lord "the public honor due to His holy attributes ... acknowledging the transgressions which might justly provoke the manifestations of His divine displeasures" and "seeking His merciful forgiveness." The proclamation later urged Americans to pray for the Lord's blessing and protection, showing the president's belief that God restores a country when its people repent of their sin.

Presidents issued similar documents through the Civil War, when both the United States and the Confederate States of America called numerous days of fasting, prayer and the confession of sin. The National Day of Prayer, first observed in 1952, offers Americans a chance to turn away from our wrongdoing, ask God's forgiveness and trust in Him to change both our individual hearts and our national moral climate.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," 1 John 1:9 promises. By admitting the evil we have done, we can experience the power of redemption in Christ and the purified life that comes from the Holy Spirit's work in us.

As God's judgment begins with Christians (1 Peter 4:17), those who profess Christ should be the first to ask His forgiveness for the sins that have invoked His holy anger. The National Day of Prayer reminds Christians to ask for God's mercy, to confess to fellow followers of Christ, to plead with the Lord to show unbelievers their need for His loving grace.

Upon the foundation of individual repentance, national revival can grow. When the Lord called Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem's walls, Nehemiah confessed his own, and his people's, sins before asking the Lord to bless his restoration work. God later led a remnant of the nation of Israel to fast, humble themselves, confess "their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers" (Nehemiah 9:2) and recommit to keeping God's commandments.

The Lord answered those prayers, proving, as the Israelites acknowledged, that He is "a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness" (Nehemiah 9:17). For America -- and any other country whose people repent -- He still loves to answer prayers of contrition.

An America in spiritual turmoil cries out for God's restoration. The National Day of Prayer offers a perfect time to repent and seek His blessings on our land.

To see America's families healed, parents should begin by confessing their failure to discipline their children and lead them in obedience to God. Children should confess their failure to honor their parents.

To see American marriages last, each husband should confess his failure to love his wife sacrificially, as Christ loved His church (Ephesians 5:25). Each wife should confess that she has not always submitted to her husband's authority. All should acknowledge the temptations that so easily lead to marital wreckage.

To welcome our troops home safely, we must confess the times we have depended on bomber planes and rifles to protect us. We must declare Psalm 28:7, the 2008 National Day of Prayer theme verse: "The Lord is my strength and my shield."

Where we have worshipped our economy's ability to supply us, we must and trust God to meet all our needs through the riches of Christ (Philippians 4:19).

Great needs and great troubles have captured Americans' attention. God holds out His forgiveness to us. May His Spirit move us to repentance and to the healing it brings.