National Day of Prayer
April 30, 2010 1 Comment
A United States federal judge in Wisconsin recently declared the National Day of Prayer, scheduled for May 6, to be unconstitutional. This upset a lot of Christians.
My response to my fellow believers in Christ…
Why?
Why, brethren, are you upset? Why do you feel the need for the government’s permission or approval? Do you not realize that we need neither?
Romans chapter 14 declares that it is “before his own master” a servant stands or falls. As believers in the Lord Jesus we have but one master — God. He commands us to pray and it is before Him, and Him alone, that we will be judged.
Did the apostles seek the approval of Rome for their prayers? Did they appeal to Caesar for his permission to approach the heavenly Father?
Of course not.
Caesar had not the authority to tell the apostles whether they could pray, preach or teach in the name of Jesus. Neither does the government of the United States have the authority to tell us whether we can do the same.
We should not be concerned about whether or not any nation dedicates time to prayer. But we should be extremely concerned about whether or not the church does. God’s covenant is not with the United States — indeed, His covenant is not with any earthly kingdom — His covenant, written in the blood of Christ Jesus, is with His church. We are the ones who should be obedient to our Lord’s commands to pray, preach and teach.
Caesar’s opinion of what we do should not matter to us in the least.
