Today's Nehemiah?

Father, thank You for this day, this holy day that began this morning in our small group. It was a spirited discussion with (today) five of us, and Oh! how great You are to let us experience You and share Your love in our journeys.

Lord, it was good.

As you know, we had a spirited discussion of how we need to show our faith in You through our actions. With Your help, we will! All five of us and more!

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A friend of ours forwarded this prayer today. I don't know how far it has spread on the Internet, but it is so appropriate to our conversation and study this morning. We need to pray it, and to get others we know to take it to heart and pray it.

It is a lot like Nehemiah's prayer for Israel.

God heard that prayer, and look what was accomplished!

This prayer is:

Billy Graham's Prayer for Our Nation

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.

"We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good.' But that is exactly what we have done.

"We have lost our spiritual equilibrium, and reversed our values.

"We have exploited the poor, and called it the lottery.

"We have rewarded laziness, and called it welfare.

"We have killed our unborn, and called it choice.

"We have shot abortionists, and called it justifiable.

"We have neglected to discipline our children, and called it building self esteem.

"We have abused power, and called it politics.

"We have coveted our neighbor's possessions, and called it ambition.

"We have polluted the air with profanity, and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

"We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers, and called it enlightenment.

"Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"

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Another friend just sent this quote: "Prayer is the rain that softens the soil." (Jim Hynds, National Campus Crusade Director from Prague).

I don't have a clue when Billy Graham composed this prayer. I daresay that every part of it is true.

Let's pray this and share it, putting our faith into, at least, that kind of action.

IBG / JF