October 22, 2012 (Psalm 4:5)
‘Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord.’ (Ps. 4:5)
We take our places in our nation as living sacrifices, offering prayers to God that He would have mercy on our land through releasing what is good (His healing stream) and restraining what is evil (‘gay marriage’).
We are citizens of a democracy. That means our voices and votes count. And we are citizens of a Kingdom that transcends the temporary rule and reign of men. That means our prayers count. God’s rule is often thwarted on earth. Still, we pray alongside our Brother Jesus as He prays to the Father: ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven…’ (Matt. 6:10)
Our trust is wholly in the Lord, partially (at best) in human leadership. We ask God for hope to sustain us as we behold the rise of wickedness. We offer ourselves as prayerful, fragrant sacrifices that seek to live what we pray: that God would be glorified in the world He made and is intent on redeeming.
‘No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on whose hope is in His unfailing love.’ (Ps. 33:16, 18)
‘We pray that You would preserve marriage in our nation. It is Your will, O God. Let Your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we confess our sins of cowardice and compromise. We have violated Your holy commands in regards to what we have done to our bodies and other bodies. And in our compromise we have become cowards, unwilling to stand for what we know to be true for the dignity of all. We ask that You might have mercy on Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington; uphold marriage in these states, and in our nation, as the Supreme Court prepares to rule on ‘gay marriage.’
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