WHEN NOT ON OUR KNEES

By Danelle Carvell
Once again, it's time to ponder.  The latest topic I'm pondering is whether prayer is the only answer to America's ills or should we be doing more?  Does it help to sign petitions and send letters of protest to the decision-makers in government?  Does it help to attend tea party rallies and other gatherings like them?  Should we even bother voicing our opinions when our voices go unheard by the people we're trying to influence?

I recently sent an e-mail to everyone in my address book.  I don't do that often.  I may have sent three multi-addressed e-mails in the past year.  The subject was Obama's recent approval of Monsanto's GMO alfalfa, which if planted will eventually contaminate organic farms and the organic foods they produce.  The e-mail was asking for signatures to protest Obama's decision.  I received three replies to this e-mail.  The first two were requests that I remove their names from my address book, which I did.  And the third reply said this:
"How much time per day do you spend praying for our nation and elected officials?  Have you wept and fasted and lifted our sin-filled nation up for repentance before the Lord?  God can stop Obama.  I put my faith in Him.    


I did pray and fast for our nation and its leaders the day I received the above reply, as I started to explain to the one who sent it.  But my explanation sounded defensive, so I didn't click Send.  Her accusatory tone stung a bit, as if she's the only one who spends time on her knees.  But my goal is not to argue with people, but to inform them of the things they should be putting to prayer.  With so much going on in the world, it's a full-time job keeping track of all we need to pray about.  I've encouraged prayer and fasting before on this blog, most notably in Keep Your Eyes and Prayers on Israel and in But There Is Hope, which is the most popular post according to my stats. 

But back to the original question I'm pondering, Is prayer the only answer to America's ills, or should we be doing more?  I asked my husband about this and he said he's beginning to believe that prayer is our only hope.  Phone lines and e-mail in Washington were so overloaded by protesters to both the stimulus bill and the healthcare bill that both the email and phone systems were shut down. Yet these bills were passed with no consideration of how Americans felt about them.  So what good is e-mailing a petition if that petition won't be taken into consideration by our elected officials?

I believe the good is in making people aware of injustice and exposing the corrupt decisions of our elected leaders.  That's what we accomplish when we protest, attend rallies, and voice our opinions about evil practices and government corruption. Christians are called to be the salt and light of the world, and we can't do that when we're locked in a room away from the world.  Prayer is our first line of defense, but it's not the only thing we can do.  I think God expects more of us.  And many times we let Him down by remaining silent and doing nothing.

For more on this topic, read Fighting the Good Fight by Jim Carvell under the Biblical Truth category at the bottom right side of this blog.