Why We Pray (Makayla and Drew Brady praying for our day today)
As American troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, President Franklin Roosevelt called for our nation to unite in prayer. He also offered a prayer to prepare each citizen for the road ahead. "Let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be. And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee." The victory that followed on June 6, 1944-also known as D-Day-began the march to Berlin. Eighteen months later, WWII was over and one of the world's greatest evils had been defeated. The prayers of a nation had been a powerful force.
Prayer has always been used in this country for guidance, protection and strength-even before we were a nation or a handful of colonies. The Pilgrims at Plymouth relied on prayer during their first and darkest winter. Our founding fathers also called for prayer during the Constitutional Congress. In their eyes, our recently created nation and freedoms were a direct gift from God. And being a gift from God, there was only one way to insure protection-through prayer.
President Abraham Lincoln knew this well. It was his belief that, "it is the duty of nations as well as men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God." When it came to the fate of the nation, he practiced what he preached. Before the battle of Gettysburg, he turned to God in prayer. "I went to my room one day and I locked the door and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to him mightily for victory at Gettysburg." Won by the Union, Gettysburg was one of the turning points in the war that ended slavery and kept the states united. Today the need for prayer is as great as ever. Our nation again faces battlefields, along with an epidemic of broken homes, violence, sexual immorality and social strife. As the heroes of our nation did in the past, we must again bow our heads in prayer. We must ask the Lord to bless our leaders with wisdom and protection, and that we will have the fortitude to overcome the challenges at hand. If Roosevelt, the Pilgrims and Lincoln never underestimated the power of prayer, neither should we.
It is our goal that you, your family and friends would participate in the National Day of Prayer. We pray that the event impacts your life, and that praying for our nation moves from a one-day event to a lifetime endeavor. So join us on the first Thursday in May and pray with conviction that God would continue to shed His grace on thee.
For a couple of weeks now I have been convicted that before we start our day doing anything that Makayla, Drew Brady and I should be praying first thing. Inviting HIM into our day and as always as I am growing, I pray that somehow as a stay at home mom that these two toddlers are seeing HIM everyday through me in some small way. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray continually. Jesus gave us an amazing example in Matthew 6: starting in verse 9. Who wouldn't want to have fellowship with the ALMIGHTY??
Makayla asked who and what do we pray for? Keeping in mind she is four..I just went with it and said EVERYONE! From our families, church, church family, our nation and leaders, the sick and "the lost", (people who don't know Jesus)
I am to BLOOM where I am planted... Thank you Father for allowing me to be home with just 2 of your beloved, and calling me to be their mother. May I give you the honor and glory that you so well deserve.
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