I would like to share with you my prayer for the nation. If you feel you wish
share the thoughts of this prayer for yourself and others, feel free to forward
I would like to begin with the words of a familiar prayer hymn by John G.
Whittier...
"Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways; re-clothe us in
our rightful mind, in purer lives Thy service find, in deeper reference, praise."
We come before you, Father, appealing for Your mercy toward our nation.
Many prayers from sincere and obedient hearts are seeking Your help and
guidance in turning our nation from its arrogant, reckless and destructive path
to repentance, and restoration of the faith and Godly moral principles of its
founding that made it the greatest nation on earth. Help America change
from political correctness to moral correctness.
Lord, may I frame this petition with the words of that innocent, simple little
student prayer, that the 1962 foolish Supreme Court justices so arrogantly,
and recklessly threw out of the schools. They lied to the American people
in claiming it violated the Constitution, when there was no violation.
That little 22 word prayer simply said, "Almighty God, we acknowledge our
dependence upon Thee and beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our
teachers, and our country." It is as if those presumptuous justices said to
You by their action, "we no longer need nor want your hand of protection
over our students, their parents our teachers, or even this country--be gone!"
And so You removed Your hand of protection as they requested to show
them and America what happens when a nation rejects its God. In the
years that have followed, we have seen the curses of Deuteronomy 28
encroach upon our nation in each of the four areas of that little prayer.
We have seen the student SAT scores plummet to all time lows. School
shootings, unheard of before l962 have taken the lives of many students in
subsequent years. Once peaceful halls of disciplined learning have turned
into dangerous war zones of gang violence, murder, drug infestation, rape
and all kinds of chaos. Children who are falsely taught that they are simply
animals in the evolutionary chain, and not the unique creation of a loving
God, will act the part of their false concepts and reap distorted lives.
The divorce rate among parents of the students has risen sharply in the
subsequent years since 1962. Less than 50% of American youth reach
their 18th birthday with both biological parents. No nation is stronger than
the endurance of the home, the very foundation of society and civilization.
Since that disastrous decision in 1962, teacher proficiency test scores
have plummeted, and teacher cheating has become prominent. For some,
honor, integrity and sacrificial commitment to the success of the student,
has unfortunately given way to financial greed, selfish personal rights and
following union demands, than in educating of the children entrusted to
their care to produce effective, morally responsible citizens. Some teachers
identify more as political propaganda party hacks, than as serious and
concerned educators. Children's hopes are destroyed by lack of true
knowledge.
The fourth area of that little prayer, regarding blessings upon our nation,was decimated by the 8:1 decision of the judges to throw out prayer to You
in public schools. Your Word says, "Blessed is that nation whose God is the
Lord" (Psalm 33:12). In their blasphemous arrogance, Supreme Court Justices,
Black, Douglas, and six others, consigned America to join the 10 other great
civilizations of past history in their decline and fall because of social decay
and moral a political corruption. Their Ban on prayer to You in the schools,
led to further subsequent decisions banning Bible reading, the public display
of the 10 Commandments, and eventually many other displays, or evidence
of Christian paraphernalia. This just served to grease the skids of our nation's
social and moral decline. Those in authority over us today blindly ignore the
great realities of history, like: "Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a
disgrace to any people." (Proverbs 14:34). We have come to the point in our
decline, where now that which is evil, shameful, unnatural, perverse and
abominable in Your sight, is all said to be good and normal, and socially
perfectly moral and acceptable. And, that which is obviously moral and right
and good is now said to be evil and socially unacceptable. We recall that Your
Word says in Isaiah 5:20 "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil." And, "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget
God." (Psalm 9:17).
And so, we come before you asking your help to restore once again the
blessings of that little prayer that the Supreme Court threw out. But, Lord,
help us to make it stronger by teaching it to our children and grandchildren
and repeating it every morning with them before school. And if prayer is
never allowed to be publicly prayed in the classroom, it will still be more
prominently and powerfully present in the minds of the children. Let it be
carried in the heart of every student as they pass through the doors of the
school and into their classrooms each day. Let it frustrate and perplex Your
enemies as they behold a new confidence and zeal in the eyes and behavior
of the students. And let it lead to a soul-searching positive change among
teachers and administrators, board members and legislators.
If it be in accordance to Your Will, help us revise this little prayer to be:
"Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee and beg Thy
Hand of protection, and Thy truth, morality, honesty and righteousness
upon us as students, and on our parents, our teachers and our country.
Thy Will always be done. In Jesus Name, Amen."
Lord, we pray for the children and students of America. Return truth
to the classrooms of America--truth in science, truth in history, truth in
all areas of education. Restore repentance, honesty, dedication and
discipline to the schools. Defeat all wicked influences that daily attack
the minds of students: sexual immorality, political agendas, atheistic
false interpretations of science and psychology, and distortions of facts.
And Lord, we pray for the homes and families--the parents of America.
Help husbands and wives honor their commitment to the vows they
promised You in marriage. Let there begin a revolution of restoring the
sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman for life. And help
them to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of You, the Lord.
Defeat the artificial, counterfeit perversions of the institution of marriage.
You designed marriage to be the very foundation fabric of society and
civilization. Help people to see that the sexual relationship was never
designed to be a recreational pursuit or a personal right outside of marriage;
and, that the sexual relationship was intended for procreation and the
pleasure of a man and wife only in marriage. That is why you have so many
warnings against adultery and fornication, lasciviousness and other moral
perversion.
For our teachers, we pray for repentance and a revival of restoring that
which is moral and right and truthful to the curriculum and their lesson
plans. Give them the courage to follow God rather than man. May they
restore dignity to the profession, with the primary purpose of educating the
children in their charge in truth, honesty, morality and reverence for You and
our country. Raise up leaders who will want to take our nation back to its
days of greatness and good. Help teachers to lead by example and to inspire
their students to these ends.
And we pray for our nation. Please restore wisdom and common sense
back to our federal, state and local governments. Re-establish our govern-
ment back to the purpose for which You instituted it--for the protection of
the righteous and the punishment of the wicked. Bring government back to
our Constitutional roots, and help it once again to be a government by the
people and for the people. Raise up wise and honest statesmen in the
place of greedy politicians. Restore honest judges to replace the biased and
the corrupt. May wise leaders abide by the Constitution and realize they are
servants of the people. Give them the means to balance the budget,
eliminate waste, dismiss unethical lobbyists and advisers, fire unnecessary
bureaucracies, reverse bad laws, unnecessary regulations, and unnecessary
unions, guiding their decisions with Your wisdom. Help them restore the
right kind of right-to-work laws, free enterprise, and to encourage personal
achievement, excellence, and fair competition, along with fair and diminish-
ing taxation.
We have great concern for America today with the attacks on Christianity
and dangerous social and cultural changes based on ignorance, intimidation,
lies, and radical agendas. Be a hedge of protection around your people and
defeat the attempts to implement as law that which will destroy this nation.
Help our leaders and judges to make the right decisions, if it be Thy will.
Especially, Lord, be with those who seek to follow you in Christianity. Help
us to fulfill Your Call for unity in adherence to Your Will found in Your Word.
Strengthen Your church, knowing that the key to turning our nation back
to You must start with the repentance and re-commitment of Your people.
And so You said, "If My people which 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, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."(2 Chronicles 7:14).
Lord, you love everybody and are patient toward us, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Help us
to know that you sent Jesus to save us from our sins and not in our sins.
Thank You, Lord. May Your Will be done always. In Jesus Name, Amen!
--Stanley Sherman
If you share these sentiments, forward this prayer to others. May God
bless you.
