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God; That they might repent and re ceive Christ as Saviour. That our na tion might be swept by a mighty heaven-sent revival. f Lincoln once said that the strongest force in Afnerica was public opinion. Public opinion ultimately will deter mine the future of our country. We ought to pray that public opinion in individuals may be made to conform • In fulfilling our obligation to pray on behalf of our country, we need to sepk Scriptural understanding. In the realm of the relationship of the be liever to his country, there is much confusion and even bewilderment of thought. One often hears it said, “We must repent of our individual sins, and also of our national sins. We as iq- dividuals must get right with God, and the nation must also get right with God.” Are there two kinds of sinS— indi vidual and national? Our so-called national sins are nothing more nor less than, the sum total of our in dividual sins. It is we—and only we, as individuals—who must repent. The n a t i o n is 130,000,000 individual Americans. We hear the slogans oft-repeated, “America must turn to God,” “The nation must repent.” The sentiment is praiseworthy, but let us be sure that we understand the meaning cor rectly. It might be better to put it this way: "Americans must turn to God.” Or, better still, we might say, “You and I must turn to God,” “You and I must repent.” The nation is you and I! Christianity regards men as indi viduals. Its message is to the indi vidual. Its message does not change. It is the same in- this crisis in the twentieth century as it has been down through all the centuries. Often we hear the prayer: “God save America.” Our understanding would be clarified if we made it: “God save Americans.” There is no way whereby America can be saved except by In dividual Americans accepting Christ as their own personal Saviour. We* are saved one by one—as individuals; not en masse or en bloc or “ as a people” or “as a nation.” America can be saved when Americans, -one by one, turn to the Lord. PRAYER IS MEASURED BY QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY: • Some one has said, “A prayer’s strength is not measured by its length.” Neither, is the power of a . [Continued on Page,. 93] , - to the “mind of Christ.” PRAYER AND NATIONAL REPENTANCE:
Significance of the News By DAN GILBERT Washington, D. C , and San Diego, California
to the Scriptures. To -have power, prayer must be intelligent as well as fervent. Zeal is no substitute for knowledge. Paul speaks of those who “have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Rom. 1Q:2, R. V.). How often, in prayer, we manifest a so- called zeal for the things of God, but an ignorance of the Word of God! HOW TO PRAY FOR THOSE IN AUTHORITY: • The Bible instructs us to pray for those in authority over Us. But have we ever stopped to inquire: who is-in authority in America? We are a de mocracy: a government; of the people, by .the people, and for the people. The people are in authority in America. Elections are held to select public officials who will carry out. the will of the people. ; , The President, Congress, the Judi ciary, the Army and Navy, the Gov ernors, Mayors, Legislatures, and Po lice, all exercise certain elements of authority under the American system of government. But all of them are answerable to the peopfe, in whom is vested Supreme authority. ' The government of the U n i t e d States is 130,000,000 American citizens. No prayer on behalf of governing au thority should fail to include the peo ple themselves, the source of ultimate power in a democracy. We should pray for all who hold public office; but also for our 130,000,000 fellow Americans. And what should we pray on their behalf? That they might be given wisdom and understanding from on high. That they might be led to turn to the Book of God and the Son of
IS THE PRAYER ARMY LAGGING? • In many fields, America’s mobiliza tion for all-out war is ahead of sched ule. The productive forces of industry And labor have exceeded the high quotas for gunS and tanks and planes which were set a year ago. Agricul tural production is reaching an ; all- time peak. Month by month the army is being expanded to reach the ulti* mate goal of approximately ten mil lion men in service. In the realm of military and mate rial mobilization, America is well' on her way to victory. But, thoughtful persons are now asking, how about, the spiritual realm? Is it being neg lected? How about the army of prayv er? Is it lagging behind? The welfare—indeed, the very ex istence—of a nation depends upon the joint-enterprise of Church and State. They must be separate—but they must both be functioning—if the national well-being is to be' insured. • "We have, four times as many men In army camps now as we had before the attack at Pearl Harbor. But do we have four times as many people in the service of Christ? PRAYER AND NATIONAL MORALE: , • If the much-misused word “morale” has any real meaning it must refer to a people’s state of mind, state of heart, and state of morals. America’s morale is not what it ought to be, not what it needs to be. And all the propaganda -artists and professional “morale-builders” have been unable to elevate or uplift it. Morale-build ing, in a truly fundamental way, is the work of the church of Jesus Christ. Only Christ can create a pure heart. Only Christ can fortify the mind with convictions which will withstand all hardship and the approach of death itself. Only Christ can give that kind of. super-human courage which defies the so-called “ instinct of self-preser vation.” Christ In us is the only Fount and Spring of a morale which never fal ters And which cannot fail. INTELLIGENCE IN PRAYER: • The dictionary defines God as Su preme Intelligence. Intelligence, like holiness, is-an .attribute of God. " Prayer involves and exercises the whole being of man: his head, as well as his heart; his intellect, as well as his emotions. The “mind of Christ” is to belong to the believer, according
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