Government Comes Out Of Agreement

Why did the founding fathers succeed? Can a core of like-minded people refashion our future? For the answer, look at the reverse side of a $2 bill. It pictures the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Our founding fathers agreed and came into covenant. Their covenant created a nation. Agreement in prayer creates something. Government comes out of agreement.

Our forefathers expanded across the continent, formed settlements, and began the great experiment of “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” It established our heritage as the greatest nation on earth. History can’t fully capture the motives or the means employed to achieve this epic outcome.

The richness we enjoy, the safety of our society, the potential for a good future all derived from more than natural resources. What was in the hearts of the people created American greatness. It was more than ambition or luck. They didn’t have royalty nor rich parents. They didn’t have paved roads. Yet they succeeded. Why us? Other nations have faltered.

I believe the answer is that our forefathers had a noble vision. It was driven by personal responsibility. They also possessed values formed by biblical faith: Christianity. Some of these values were courage, faith, and optimism. These are all characteristics of the heart, not of an education.

By passing these traits to the children in their families, they created a culture that endured. These traits are more than mere knowledge. The society they valued and built included respect for their elders, a work ethic, self-reliance, faith in God, and adhering to a moral code. These things produced the ability to be trusted and the ability to sustain committed relationships (i.e. “stay married”). Thanks to these premier values, they were successful. We are in their debt!

In modern society, the TV gives an inordinate amount of publicity to prominent people (actors, politicians, the super-rich) who have wealth, influence, and fame. Yet, in many cases, these people are moral pygmies. Their personal lives are in shambles. They look good, they appear successful, but they have nothing of value to hand to the next generation except the practice of personal indulgence.

The infrastructure that invented America had an underlying social structure. It was a familial network. It had two-parent families. Fathers and mothers were raising the children. Their reliance was on God, their own efforts, the church, and each other — NOT on the federal government.

Let me tell you a secret. Beneath the surface, not reported in the news media, there is a movement composed of patriotic citizens. They are diverse, not lumped into any one party or group. What they have in common is a belief that if God’s people pray, the Lord will answer. These are Christians who are praying for America.

The Scripture we rely on is 2 Chronicles 7:14. “If My people who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Are we God’s people? Then this verse applies to us.

Are we praying? Yes. It is in secret but concerted. It is small, in agreement, but national. Prayer changes things. There is no greater power on earth than believers who agree in prayer for God’s will to be done on earth. At some point, our repenting and praying, if we persist, strikes fire in heaven. God forgives our sin. God heals our land. There is hope for America!