God commands that you and I pray for our land and for our leaders. Specifically, we are to pray for hearts to turn in repentance to God and also to cry out for God’s mercy to fall upon a land which would have him not. It is far too easy to complain and to grumble. It is the simple way out just to be unhappy with lifestyles that scorn God’s laws. However, God has called us to compassion and to the mercy of gospel grace. Let us seek his great name in prayer to bring about repentance, mercy and grace to our land.
Tonight there is the celebration of the Academy Awards. Tonight is a celebration against the ways of God. The right to kill unborn children is held sacred. The reinvention of marriage is praised as enlightened progress. Personal purity is mocked as movies and gowns alike make a public display of that which is intended for the marriage bed alone. People with great ability and talent have used their skills to promote disdain for all that God has made sacred. And in the end people will clutch golden statues which can neither renew nor redeem the human soul. This misplaced hope in the treasure of earth has overcome our country.
Pray earnestly for the gospel of Jesus to go forth with power from the church, from you and me. This night people will celebrate and admire the best they can imagine life has to offer. But this fleeting moment is all they have. It is a brief eye blink of fame where the truth of God is exchanged for a lie.
Pray for courage to be salt and light. Pray for compassion for those mired in darkness. Pray for God to bring mercy and grace, this night and every night. Amen.