Has moral courage gone the way of the dinosaur?
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
Any Christian who listens to or reads the news these days cannot help but wonder what will happen to the United States as it accumulates massive debt, and too many people disregard the basic Christian principles upon which this country was born. There can be no doubt among Christians that this country is in dire need of turning back to God in prayer and repentance. We seem to have strayed so far from the noble principles that brought about the founding of the U.S. and the writing of our Constitution.
Here are a few examples of the moral and spiritual decline happening in the country for which prayer is greatly needed:
1. The “Respect For Marriage Act” Passed in December
While Congress is forbidden in the First Amendment to make any law establishing an official national religion or preventing the free exercise of anyone’s religion, it has recently done just that with the “Respect For Marriage Act,” which allows many loopholes in its ostensible protections for people of faith. Those protections mainly apply to churches and religious organizations and not individuals who choose not to participate in same-sex weddings. As a result, those promoting homosexual marriage will have the legal right to go after those who openly oppose it and refuse to participate in it.
In a prophetic message to President Joe Biden on YouTube, Jonathan Cahn addresses the possible consequence of this country’s leadership turning against God’s ways, and it is not just the Democrats who are guilty. Many Republicans ignored the Judeo-Christian underpinnings upon which the U.S. was founded and voted in favor of the “Respect for Marriage Act.” One Senator from Wyoming even admitted that, although she firmly believed that marriage should be between a man and woman only, she did not want to deal with the recriminations that would come her way if she voted against it. Has moral courage gone the way of the dinosaur?
Prayer to Combat the Departure from God’s design for Men and Women
Dear Father in Heaven, You know that this country has moved a long way from the beliefs that were once followed by the people who founded it. You blessed us with many freedoms, including the freedom of religion to believe as our consciences lead us. Many of our laws were established from a biblical worldview. However, that worldview seems to have fallen into disfavor with many people who live in ways that war against your commands and precepts, and those people who have strayed want to force approval of their life choices on those of us who desire to follow You. Please bring about revival in this country, drawing many hearts to You and away from the destructive lifestyles and darkness they live in. We depend on you to rescue this country from the effects of widespread sin. In Jesus’ Mighty Name. Amen
2. The Continued Fight Regarding the Right of Parental Authority
This has become something close to a civil war, with many states either attempting to or succeeding in establishing laws that protect the rights of parents to have a voice in their children’s education and to know what is going on in school. According to an article in Liberty Center’s website, one such case is currently going through the court system. Jessica Konen learned that her daughter was being indoctrinated by teachers at her school to believe that she was transgender. Teachers were encouraging Konen’s daughter to participate in an “Equality Club” and to select a boy’s name and use male pronouns to go along with her gender transition while instructing her not to tell her mother what was going on at school because she could not be “trusted.”
Successes in protecting parental authority do not come without backlash, though. When the Florida legislature passed a bill Governor Ron DeSantis signed, banning schools from offering studies in sexual orientation and gender identity to children in kindergarten through third grade, Disney Corporation employees participated in protests. They pressured their CEO to fight the bill as it went through the legislative process. Despite enormous pressure against the bill, it passed and was signed into law. While many people pushed to have the bill repealed or struck down in court when it first became law, that fight seems to have quieted down for the present.
However, there are still many areas where parents have to fight the government over their right to raise their children without government interference. In response to some parents expressing their displeasure with the subject matter being taught to their children in public schools at school board meetings, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, revealed that an FBI whistleblower had informed him that a memo was sent to FBI field offices encouraging them to use “counterterrorism tools” against parents who spoke out at school board meetings.
Prayer for the Sanctity of the Traditional Family
Dear Father in Heaven, It seems that one of Jesus’ prophecies of children turning against their parents is beginning to come true. Children are being led by teachers and others outside their families to keep secrets from their parents. While children are not delivering their parents to death at this point, we see, from current events, how such things could happen if they are not restrained. We are asking you to not only restrain the trends we see happening that causes division between family members but, if it is in your will, to reverse them so that the family, as You designed it, is once again respected for its importance in society. In Jesus’ Mighty Name. Amen.
3. Ongoing Effort to Codify Roe v. Wade into Federal Law
Soon after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which upheld a national “right” to abortion, pro-abortion groups and politicians began to write a law that would declare a national right to abortion in every state. This clearly opposes the intent of the Supreme Court in saying that abortion is not a national “right,” but individual states have the right to regulate the practice of abortion as they see fit. The reaction to both the leaking of the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade in May and the official decision in June resulted in many acts of violence by those who promote abortion against pregnancy care centers and other pro-life organizations that peacefully promote the right to life of the pre-born.
Sadly, the attempt to establish a law that seeks to destroy God’s creation and rebel against what the Bible says about life is not just an effort by the radical left. Still, once again, some Republicans are promoting or approving it too—for instance, Senator Susan Collins of Maine. This is no surprise because when current Justice Brett Kavanaugh was going through confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court, Collins tried to extract a promise from him that he would not overturn Roe v. Wade. She is among the senators who introduced the bill entitled the “Reproductive Freedom For All Act.” On the surface, this sounds rather “noble” because it employs the word “freedom.” However, the purpose is to “restore the right to abortion and protect access to contraception by enshrining those freedoms into federal legislation.”
While the issue of preventing pregnancy, as long as it does not actively kill a preborn child, is already left up to individuals, it is deceptively lumped into this abortion-promoting legislation when there are already a variety of ways uninhibited by any law that individual women and couples can prevent pregnancy, thus managing the size of their families. This access is not being challenged.
The Bible is clear in numerous places that the preborn child is precious, and his or her life must be protected. For instance, in Exodus 21:22-25, God lays out definite consequences for anyone who would even harm a preborn child accidentally. In fact, according to this passage of scripture, if any harm came to a baby born prematurely because of accidental harm, the recommended punishment would be “life for life.” Therefore, God cannot possibly be pleased with the deliberate destruction of preborn babies.
Prayer for the Lives of the Preborn
Dear Father in Heaven, You created all life, and as Your servant, David wrote, “You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.” It is so distressing to see life treated with such callous disregard when too many people advocate for the killing of defenseless babies just because they have not been born yet. Not only that, some even advocate for letting these babies die should they survive the abortion process. We know that this hurts Your heart. Please draw those involved with abortions, or even promoting them, to realize what they are doing, repent, and turn to Your Son, Jesus, as Savior and Lord. Please also forgive the women who have been deceived by society into having abortions. Turn them to Your Son Jesus as well. In Your Son’s Name. Amen.
4. Deep Division in World Views
It is no secret that the U.S. is probably experiencing the greatest division known since the Civil War. The clash at this time is often characterized politically, such as Republican versus Democrat or liberals versus conservatives, and often between races. It gets ugly many times with one political leader or another publicly insulting the other side. While the reasons for these divisions are characterized as political issues, the problems are much more profound because of our country's departure from God’s ways. Many of the issues first mentioned in this article are the source of great tension—how to manage religious rights in light of the push by many that the general population not only tolerate but accept homosexuality, transgenderism, abortion, and the relinquishing of parental rights to government dictates. What would this country look like if people had more tolerance for each other without necessarily giving up their deeply held values?
Prayer for Return to God
Dear Father in Heaven, You see the division and open hostilities in this country that are of the devil who wants this country divided and destroyed. We do not know if this is the beginning of the end times or if the trends we see can be reversed. We do know that You are sovereign over everything, and the whole world, including this country, is in Your hands. Nothing is impossible for You. We do not know what the future holds for the U.S., but we ask that You empower everyone who claims Your Son Jesus as Savior and Lord to share the Good News of Salvation with someone so that many more people can be saved because Your word says that You are not willing that any should perish and that all come to repentance. In Jesus’ Perfect and Powerful Name. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©Mediamodifier/Pixabay
Cathy Wentz lives with her husband, Brian, in Cedar City, UT, and has been a believer in Jesus Christ for more than 30 years. She has two grown children and four grandchildren, all who live in Cedar City. Her writing experience includes working as a newspaper reporter for eight years, and she currently serves as a public relations assistant for a local orthopaedic surgeon, which involves writing blogs, social media posts and other web content.
