A Prayer For Our Country of Canada
Written by: Paul Wipf on Saturday, July 1st, 2017
We join together in prayer for our country of Canada, on this the 150th year since Confederation.
As Christians, life is a delicate balance; standing for that which is true while seeking unity amongst ourselves whenever possible, standing firm in faith while showing grace to those who falter, holding our leaders accountable while praying for their wisdom and well-being. We believe that everyone is born with a purpose and each of us knows our job here on earth, but it takes faith and courage to live our best life. Faith means that we’ll be faithful to God’s will. God’s intention for every one of us is that we love one another. Life should be an expression of that love.
We live at a time when the world is reeling with uncertainly. You can almost feel it in the air. It seems like God is becoming a casualty. We have lost our soul and sense of purpose. Challenges before us as Christians are mounting significantly throughout the whole world. Our hearts have grown cold, because we have become rebellious and unwilling to yield to God’s ways, which guarantee lasting peace and prosperity. We have become arrogant and selfish. We have become a divided people.
What are the solutions one may ask? 2 Chronicles 7:14 teaches us “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
I believe God is calling us to exactly this. We need to pray for transformation for those in our country who do not know the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and renewal and courage for those who do. We must humble ourselves, we must pray and seek God’s face, we must turn from our wicked ways, we must open our life to God’s scrutiny and seek to obey His every command. Only then can you be called by His Name. This healing peace from God is a calm assurance that rests the hearts of those who surrender their wills to God’s will. Then as terror strikes at home, peace will be ours.
PRAYER
Heavenly, Merciful, Gracious Father we humbly come before thee here today in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to ask for God’s wisdom and righteousness to be evident in our nation’s policies and Leaders. Almighty God, you have ordained civic government that it should serve you.
We pray for our leaders: Elizabeth our Queen, Justin Trudeau our Prime Minister, and our provincial and territorial leaders. Grant that they may put accountability to you ahead of self-interest and personal gain and thus fulfill the role you have permitted them to assume. Bless our land with honest industry, truthful education, and an honorable way of life. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil course of action.
On his deathbed in 1662 at the Hutterite community in Sabatisch Slovakia our beloved Hutterite Bishop, Andreas Ehrenpreis told his beleaguered community members “if ever there was a time when prayer was needed, it is now.” Dear Lord, this is as true today as it was then. We ask you to lead us back to all that is good and beautiful in thy sight. Forgive us our many sins and bring healing and hope to our souls.
When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful, and in troubled times do not let our trust in you fail. Render us repentant hearts and may the power and peace offered on the cross of Christ be made known throughout our land; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Merciful God we ask you to lead us back to the truth, the good and beautiful, forgive our sins, bring healing and hope to our soul. Fill our hearts with the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
Heavenly father we ask you to bless our beloved friends our families and communities, as we continue this journey down the road of success and failures together. We don’t know what lies ahead, for the road has many turns and bends. But help us to make the best of whatever comes our way.
May the grace of our God and the blessing of the Holy Spirit be with us always and keep us united in the mind of Christ forever. Let us pray for guidance, to do what is right and may the Spirit of Christ be with us to all eternally.
This we ask in the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior . Amen
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Showing 3 comments
Paul said:
On: 21st Jul, 2017 at 13:22
“Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:2
Conscience operates by applying God’s Word to situations. It’s true for Christians and non-believers alike. This is because God has written His moral law in the hearts of all men; and when society ignores either the written or the unwritten Word of God, its collective conscience becomes dead or indifferent. In short, good ethics – whether medical, legal, business or personal – cannot be achieved except through the Word of God. A moral understanding of right and wrong is a reflection of the working of the Spirit.
When the Spirit begins working on the conscience of a nation, then that nation begins to call things by their biblical names. Society learns that sex outside of marriage is adultery, not recreation. Abortion is killing, not the extraction of fetal tissue. Lying is sin, not fudging the truth. People are very much like King David who, even though a believer, could not discern adultery from simple self-gratification for want of a sensitive conscience. For him, the light only dawned after Nathan the prophet plainly set before him the truth.
If you believe it is time for our country to wake up to the facts about materialism or racism, then it’s time to “set forth the truth plainly,” as today’s verse suggests. You, like Nathan, are a prophet. You are the point person for the Spirit’s influence. The only hope for our country’s dulled conscience is you, through your prayers and Christ-like living. This is what it means when it says, “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek my face… then I will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Let’s pray for our country… then let’s live for it, too.
Quicken the minds and enlighten the hearts of the people in my community as I shine your light, Lord, and shake the salt of your gospel.
Blessings
Mary Beachy said:
On: 12th Oct, 2017 at 11:17
Paul, I lost your tele. # from my telephone, we would like to visit next summer again
would you kindly let me have your tele. # again
Terry Lempriere said:
On: 13th Nov, 2017 at 22:47
Yes we all need to pray for our country, our leaders in government, church and our communities. I’ve been involved with the Calgary leadership prayer breakfast for a few years now. It has also opened my eyes to the need for praying for ourleaders.