Prayer: A Matter Of Life Or Death!
By Linda Brown

Will you answer the important call to help restore our church and our nation?

Prayer: It's a matter of life or death for our church; it's a matter of life or death for our nation. I'm convinced that in order to have the spiritual power we so desperately need, we MUST be united as a church and as a nation, and we MUST be persistent in our prayer life. If there is discord among the members of a church or the citizens of a nation, the Lord will never bless us. This is the enemy's strategy to get our focus off of God and onto one another. We MUST NOT allow ourselves to fall into this deadly trap! Thus, the need to join together as a community of love and prayer -- our only hope -- is our power against the world.

Imagine what we can accomplish when we are united. The story of the Tower of Babel, found in Genesis 11:5-6, presents a powerful illustration of what we can accomplish when we are united in spirit:

"But when the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower, he said: These people are working together because they all speak the same language. This is just the beginning. Soon they will be able to do anything they want."

And we can also look to American history for the power of prayer. With his army facing starvation at Valley Forge, General George Washington turned to God in prayer. During a bitter dispute that threatened to divide the Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin rose and called on his colleagues to pray. At a crucial time during the Civil War, with his nation on the brink of disaster, Abraham Lincoln "got down on [his] knees before Almighty God and prayed."

In the midst of great trials, America's leaders have turned to God in prayer. These men of action knew they desperately needed His help for America to survive. As Ben Franklin said, "If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?"

Prayer worked for Washington, for Franklin, and for Lincoln. And it can help save America today. Will you answer the important call to help restore our church and our nation? As it says in James 5:16, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (KJV). With so much at stake, help re-kindle the spiritual fire in our church and in our nation through prayer and unity.

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