O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! 
For Your sake, O my God, do not delay …” (Daniel 9:19)

The theme verse for this year’s National Day of Prayer is the passionate, desperate conclusion of Daniel’s prayer of intercession for Israel.  May we also, during this week at least, pray passionately for our nation, acknowledging that, without the Lord’s intervention, we are lost. 
 
Here are a few suggestions for how to pray:
 
God’s Sovereignty and Glory
Acknowledge before the Lord that He is sovereign over the United States of America in 2017. He establishes nations and rulers and also removes them. He brings blessings and calamities. He knows everything that is going on in America and is certainly at work. Our greatest prayer is that, as His plan unfolds, He will be honored and glorified.
 
Our Sin
Just as Daniel confessed sin on behalf of his nation, we should confess the sin of ours. The list is long, especially the list of “other people’s” sin:  abortion (more than 900,000 babies killed in the womb each year), rebellion against God-given gender and even the binary nature of gender, redefinition of marriage – to give just a few examples. We “good people” have many sins to confess too:  materialism, self-righteousness, an obsession with comfort and ease. Mourn the sin God sees everywhere He looks in our land.
 
Elected Leaders
How many of your elected leaders can you name? President Donald Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, your representative in the House (click hereto find his or her name if you don’t know), Governor Jerry Brown, your state senator (click here to find), your state assembly member (click here to find), your mayor and city council members (check your city's website).
For our elected leaders, pray for a clear sense of right and wrong as God defines it, for courage to stand up for what’s right, and for wisdom to move in the direction of the right and the good. Ask God to develop in them humility, integrity, and a servant’s heart.

Courts
Ask the Lord to endow judges at every level with His justice. Pray that the rule of law will prevail in our nation.
 
The Body Politic
We are different in so many ways:  race, ethnic background and culture, life experiences, religion, language and accent, educational level, income, worldview, moral values, political opinions. Pray that, no matter how different we are and how vehemently we may disagree, we can treat each other with profound respect. Pray that all of us Americans can see an opponent as a person, not a caricature, and apply the Golden Rule to everyone, in every forum. May it begin with us as Christ followers.
 
Marriages and Families
Marriage and family are God’s design and the foundation of a healthy society. Pray that mothers and fathers would commit to one another in marriage and fulfill their vows. Ask God to pour out His grace on all parents – whether they know Him or not – enabling them to raise their children according to His timeless ways. May they … stand at the crossroads and look, ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it. (Jeremiah 6:16)  Pray that Christian homes would be distinctively different in our society, a beacon of love and peace that attracts others and a testimony to the Source of that love and peace.
 
Churches
Ask the Lord to purify His church in America and to empower His people to be light and salt in America. Lift up pastors, asking the Lord to guide and encourage them daily in His kingdom work.
 
In addition, here are two prayer requests from Calvary family members that have come in recently:

1. Deni Martin asks us to pray for the family of Carol Massari (nèe Brown), who went home to be with the Lord on April 12 after battling cancer for several years. The Brown family – Mary and Bill and their three children – attended Calvary for decades and will be remembered by Calvary old-timers.
2. Lift up young parents who are deeply concerned for the salvation of their children. I heard recently from the mother of a five-year-old, distressed because the little girl does not want to ask Jesus into her heart. Ask God to do His work in the lives of the littlest members of our church family. Ask Him to fill their parents with the wisdom they need to explain the things of God and with the patience and trust they need to wait for His timing.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert
Calvary Community Church of Brea