It's Time to Pray, Day 8

"You, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation." ~Lamentations 5:19

In December of 2000, I spent some time on top of the World Trade Center in New York City with some prayer warrior friends, praying over the city. I wouldn't have believed it then if you had told me that nine months later those towers would collapse. Something so big, solid, and sturdy should have lasted for many, many years. Yet we live in a world that, sometimes quickly and sometimes through the centuries, is disintegrating and passing away.

That's hard to hear when you speak of nations, especially if you happen to be praying for your own nation. Yet the testimony of history is that nations rise and nations fall. Certainly this gives urgency to our prayers for America. But it also causes us to realize that the reign of the Lord lasts far beyond any individual nation. In times of turmoil and change, we hold fast to the truth of God's Word: His rule is not dependent upon any nation. His throne endures forever.

Prayer Points

• Give thanks to the Lord for His everlasting rule over this world.
• Ask the Lord to awaken the church to the temporary nature of the nations and to the eternal nature of the reign of God.
• As you pray for the United States, ask the Lord to help us as a nation to fulfill His purposes for us.

My Prayer

Lord, what peace fills my heart as I consider Your eternal throne. In a world in which everything seems to change so fast and so many things fade and fall, how good it is to know You never change. Your throne, Your rule, continues from generation to generation. There will never be a generation for which You are not Lord, even if that generation does not acknowledge You.

Even as we pray for our beloved nation, we realize that there will come a time when it ceases to exist. My prayer, Lord, is that before that time, we would fulfill the purposes You have for us. Help us, Lord, to be a nation that brings honor and glory to Your name!