We have all had enough. The government has absolutely no constitutional right to bar me from praying when and where I want to. I am tired of “moments of silence”. It is nothing more than a political correct word. Those who don’t believe in prayer are still not praying and those of us who do are. Those who don’t feel comfortable praying don’t have to. That is the freedom we cherish in the U.S. But I have the freedom to pray and our senior citizens certainly should too.

This is absolutely ludicrous.

This is nothing new, though. Since the beginning, those who followed God have been persecuted and ridiculed. We have been asked to bow down to other gods. We have been made to be slaves for pagan countries. Many have given up their lives, proudly, because of the name of Christ.

All these issues we are facing today in the U.S. and around the world, I believe, all come back to God. That is the lack of fear for our Creator and the lack of belief that He even exists. Socialism, communism, evolution, humanism, relativism, Marxism, Nazism, etc. all find their roots in atheism. The Foundation that sustains is not there. No hope. No peace. No faith. Nothing. With no purpose for life, then there becomes no regard for anyone else’s life in all areas of life. It’s a vicious cycle that only Jesus can stop and heal.

So you see, it is people who have no concept of true Freedom in Jesus, that want to limit our constitutional freedoms and shut us up. It’s really an attack on God. I do believe God prepared us for this in the Words of the Bible.

The context of this passage takes place after the great flood. Noah and his family, along with all of the animals have left the ark. Noah has built an altar and made a sacrifice to the Lord. God was pleased with Noah and said the following.

“I will never again curse the earth, destroying all living things, even though people’s thoughts and actions are bent toward evil from childhood. As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night.” (Genesis 8:21-22)

You can’t get any clearer than that.

For those who put their trust and faith in the Lord, this is comforting and freeing. For those who are searching these words will hopefully make them think, and unfortunately for those who want nothing to do with God, they will only fight it, deny it, or run. In my simple and common sense way of thinking and doing, I just say, God said it, I believe it, case closed. God’s Word has always stood the test and it will in this case too.

So do you really want to believe all of the Global Warming hype led by people who don’t even follow their own advice and get rich off of this joke, or will you realize contrary to world belief, God is still in control and always will be?

Our middle child broke down in bed last night. He was distraught, as much as an 11 year old boy can be. He told me that he didn’t enjoy school, because children were just mean. He just didn’t feel like he had any friends. He gave the impression that it was almost impossible to make friends. His heart was breaking. I could tell he wanted to say more, but he just didn’t know how to communicate it.

As a mom, I just want to hold him and tell him it will all be okay. I want to be a fly at school and see just how horrible it is and what exactly it is that makes it hard to make friends. I want to protect. At the same time I want to give him the chance to become a wise young man who realizes that friends come and go and that when all is said and done, God is our only true blue Friend.

I am so grateful that my son opened up, as little as it may have been. It is imperative that we create a safe haven for our children in this tough world. We don’t want to push our children to seek out others or destructive habits to fulfill their desire to belong. When our children feel safe, they can endure the hard times.

This safe place starts with a solid foundation and that can only be found in Christ. My husband and I must make sure that our children know their Creator and His love for them. Then they must be able to see Christ in us. Then and only then will they be able to make it through all the difficult times that will come their way.

Parents, your children need you—at every stage of life. We must make our homes a soft place to land.
It’s tough being a kid.

Home should be a retreat to which children
can return in triumph or defeat, in victory
or disgrace, and know they are loved.
Author Unknown (Lists to Live By for Every Caring Family, pg. 162)

What does this have to do with prayer? Well, everything. In the good and in the bad, we are to be praying to God. Pray without ceasing. This is where I am at. I have always prayed, but have I really. Do I believe when I pray? I never doubt that God can do things, but I doubt that He will. I have allowed my families circumstances to get the best of me and I have allowed fear to overtake me. Is this what it means to be broken? Maybe.

I was reading my devotional, Streams in the Desert, by L.B. Cowman, for the day and it was appropriately on prayer. God has a sense of humor! I want to quote parts of the devotional; because I couldn’t say it any better than she did.

“Prayer is the link that connects us with God. It is the bridge that spans every gulf and carries us safely over every chasm of danger or need”. (pg. 412, Steams in the Desert) No one can ever take this away from me. I am so grateful for that. Everything else may go, but my connection to God will never be stripped from me. Now if I could just remember that every single day.

“In your prayers, above everything else, beware of limiting God, not only through unbelief but also by thinking you know exactly what He can do. Learn to expect the unexpected, beyond all that you ask or think”. (pg. 413, Streams in the Desert) Wow, this quote hit me hard. I know that I limit God. I only see what is obvious or feasible in my own mind. Sure I see Him do wondrous things for others, but that surely can’t happen in my own life or the life of my family. Like I said above, I believe God is capable, but I truly doubt that He will do anything in my life. I have limited God and this isn’t okay.

This has been a struggle for some time in my life and until God is through with me, I assume it will always be something I have to be guarded against. I must always remember that I serve an amazing God and that nothing is impossible for Him.

Wrestling prayer can wonders do,
Bring relief in dire straits;
Prayer can force a passage through
Iron bars and heavy gates.
Frederick William Farrar
(pg. 413 Steams in the Desert)

There are many days that I feel like Jeremiah. I am watching my country going down and I weep. I see a power and money hungry government trying to take over. I see a lost people living their lives with absolute relativism. I see corruption on every corner. What has happened. The same thing that happened to Israel and Judah. They turned their back on God and decided to partake in their own type of relativism. They felt it was okay to dabble in a little of this and a little of that. Sounds eerily familiar. It didn’t work then and it won’t work now. God is a just God.

I just finished reading the book of Lamentations and was amazed at how it hit home with me and what America is going through. I would urge everyone to read it. Remember the context. Jeremiah had predicted and witnessed the devastation of his homeland. And now he was expressing his nation’s grief. Through the despair, though, you find hope, repentance and renewal.
My prayer is that the people of America will turn back to God and not take the beautiful freedoms he has given us for granted. I pray that they will understand just what God has done for us and remember it every day of their lives. Then and only then will they realize that God is bigger than all of this corruption that is plaguing our government and people.

Who can speak and have it happen
if the Lord has not decreed it?
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that both calamities and good things come?
Why should any living man complain
when punished for his sins?

Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us return to the Lord.
Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
to God in heaven, and say:
“We have sinned and rebelled
and you have not forgiven.”   Lamentations 3:37-42

There is always hope.  God gives people a chance.  Will we take it?  Will you take it?