"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." (Luke 18:1 NIV) "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority." (I Tim. 2:1, 2 NIV)
The United States of America is trillions and trillions of dollars in debt. Meanwhile nations like Greece and Italy are dealing with unsustainable debt and will probably cause the collapse of the Euro. Many observers believe that what is happening in Greece and Italy right now is a picture of America's not so distant future. And if the American financial system totters and falls we will probably take the rest of the planet with us. It all seems so hopeless. Is there a way out?
Absolutely! They key to our survival is the Christian church. Prayer is our only hope. Less watching the news and more praying about the news is the key.
Perhaps a little history lesson will help us to understand what is at stake. By the end of the American revolution the economic situation was much, much worse than it is today. The government was massively, hopelessly in debt. They had printed way, way too much money and inflation was raging totally out of control. Washington despaired of being able to provide for his troops. It took a wagon load of money to purchase a wagon load of supplies.
And don't be tempted to think that people were wiser, holier, and more prudent then than we are now. The states weren't willing to pay the federal government what they had promised to pay and the federal government didn't have any way to make them pay up. What this means is that the people of that time wanted something (national defense) that they weren't willing to pay for. Does that sound familiar?
As a result Washington's army was months and months behind in paying the troops. Their diet was inadequate and they frequently went dressed in rags and without shoes. The troops were in danger of being discharged at the end of the war without any money to pay the expenses of their trip home. Some of Washington's officers were working on a secret plan to march the army to the capitol to demand justice. Only the presence of George Washington and the love that his army had for him saved the revolution from turning into some kind of military dictatorship. The wise men of Europe expected our whole democratic experiment to collapse. If Las Vegas had existed then all of the smart money would have been betting against the future of the United States.
After a few years of independence enough people realized that the government simply wasn't going to work. So after a great deal of debate we ended up with a new constitution and a new political leader, our first president, George Washington. And George Washington and Alexander Hamilton put together a plan that brought us out of national bankruptcy and on to a sound economic footing. I won't bore you with the details, but I want to emphasize the main point. The economic situation was worse then than it is now and wise men found a way out.
Let me share a prayer burden with you. We all need to pray that God would give the people in power the same kind of wisdom He gave to Old Testament leaders like Daniel and Joseph. We need to stop looking horizontally at the (seemingly) hopeless situation and start looking vertically up to the heavenly solution. There is hope and that hope is prayer offered to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ.
The United States of America is trillions and trillions of dollars in debt. Meanwhile nations like Greece and Italy are dealing with unsustainable debt and will probably cause the collapse of the Euro. Many observers believe that what is happening in Greece and Italy right now is a picture of America's not so distant future. And if the American financial system totters and falls we will probably take the rest of the planet with us. It all seems so hopeless. Is there a way out?
Absolutely! They key to our survival is the Christian church. Prayer is our only hope. Less watching the news and more praying about the news is the key.
Perhaps a little history lesson will help us to understand what is at stake. By the end of the American revolution the economic situation was much, much worse than it is today. The government was massively, hopelessly in debt. They had printed way, way too much money and inflation was raging totally out of control. Washington despaired of being able to provide for his troops. It took a wagon load of money to purchase a wagon load of supplies.
And don't be tempted to think that people were wiser, holier, and more prudent then than we are now. The states weren't willing to pay the federal government what they had promised to pay and the federal government didn't have any way to make them pay up. What this means is that the people of that time wanted something (national defense) that they weren't willing to pay for. Does that sound familiar?
As a result Washington's army was months and months behind in paying the troops. Their diet was inadequate and they frequently went dressed in rags and without shoes. The troops were in danger of being discharged at the end of the war without any money to pay the expenses of their trip home. Some of Washington's officers were working on a secret plan to march the army to the capitol to demand justice. Only the presence of George Washington and the love that his army had for him saved the revolution from turning into some kind of military dictatorship. The wise men of Europe expected our whole democratic experiment to collapse. If Las Vegas had existed then all of the smart money would have been betting against the future of the United States.
After a few years of independence enough people realized that the government simply wasn't going to work. So after a great deal of debate we ended up with a new constitution and a new political leader, our first president, George Washington. And George Washington and Alexander Hamilton put together a plan that brought us out of national bankruptcy and on to a sound economic footing. I won't bore you with the details, but I want to emphasize the main point. The economic situation was worse then than it is now and wise men found a way out.
Let me share a prayer burden with you. We all need to pray that God would give the people in power the same kind of wisdom He gave to Old Testament leaders like Daniel and Joseph. We need to stop looking horizontally at the (seemingly) hopeless situation and start looking vertically up to the heavenly solution. There is hope and that hope is prayer offered to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ.
2 comments:
I look at the present situation differently, I guess. I welcome the collapse of the Euro and the 'disaster' that I believe will ensue. I pray that it will be the beginnings of birth pangs and usher in the end of the age. And even it it doesn't, our western affluence seems to me to be one of the greatest barriers to our walk with God.
So, yeah. I don't pray for wiser leaders. Am I wrong?
It is never wrong to value the spiritual above the material. If God's greater designs are best met by giving us wise leaders that bring us out of this, then that prayer will be answered. If God, in His infinite wisdom, decides that the best thing that could happen for us spiritually is an economic collapse, then that is what will happen.
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