When our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, it was a proclamation of faith. They were speaking something into existence during a time when the Revolutionary War could have easily gone another way. Odds were that the colonies should have remained under British control. But odds and logic do not always win. That is what we celebrate in America.
It is important to remember how this nation was born. Many things have happened over the years to erode away the determination, freedom, and liberties that our Founding Fathers established. But when these things happen, God directs us how to pray: “If … My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:13–14).[1]
We live in a challenging time when our nation needs a great healing. So I want to address the young people in our nation, and say, “This is quickly becoming your country, and it is time for you to engage in its future. It is time for you to be concerned.” This Friday we will celebrate our declaration of independence from the suppression of a government that would not follow the will of the people. Yet often liberty is a messy thing; you have to get involved with liberty to keep it. So we must continue declaring liberty and freedom for this nation in our prayers and intercession.
We also need to recognize that in the hearts and minds of those who founded this country there was a belief in God. They were contending for the will of God to be accomplished in this nation. Our founders declared, “For the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”[2] That trust in God was the force with which they were empowered to declare their independence. It was based on God and what He deemed proper for humanity. So we should be looking for the will of God in this country.
The United States was not founded as a Christian nation. But it was founded certainly on the principles of God and with a faith in God. It was founded by asking God’s favor and His blessing upon this nation and its activities. We may not know exactly how to pray for the United States. Its issues are complicated, but God knows. So we can go back to Romans 8:26–27 and say, “We do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Therefore, being filled with the Holy Spirit and knowing how to pray in the Spirit, we can pray for this great nation with an intensity of faith and a determination that the will of God be accomplished (Ephesians 6:18). We submit our hearts to His absolute Lordship and declare that the citizens of these United States of America stand in oneness as the great country that God called it to be. God bless America.
[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).
[2] “Declaration of Independence: A Transcription,” National Archives, archives.gov.