They Sought Divine Guidance

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints… Ephesians 6:18 

Tomorrow is July 4^th, the birthday of our nation.  The devotionals this week are devoted to the founding of this country and the men responsible for building this great Christian nation. 

When, after the representatives who had met in 1787 to write the Constitution of the United States struggled for several weeks making little or no progress, eighty-one-year-old Benjamin Franklin rose and addressed the troubled and disagreeing convention that was about to adjourn in confusion.  When it seemed that their attempt to form a lasting union had apparently failed, he said;

"In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard and they were graciously answered. All of us who engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor... AND NOW HAVE WE FORGOTTEN THIS POWERFUL FRIEND? OR DO WE IMAGINE THAT WE NO LONGER NEED HIS ASSISTANCE?  I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: 'that God governs the affairs of man.' And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?  We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.  I firmly believe this. I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded; and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword to future ages.  And what is worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing government by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war, or conquest. "I therefore beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayer imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business."

Benjamin Franklin then proposed that the Congress adjourn for two days to seek divine guidance.  When they returned they began each of their sessions with prayer.  The stirring speech of Benjamin Franklin marked a turning point in the writing of the Constitution, complete with a Bill of Rights.

So what is the import of all of this?  America must not forget where she came from by being deceived or blinded to the truth.  While it is true that we are not a "Christian" nation, we are deceived if we believe that God has not, and is not, blessing America.

George Washington has said, "We can have little hope of the blessing of heaven on our Arms, if we insult it by our impiety and folly." God has not chosen America as “His people”.  We are foolish to believe that the blessing of God on America is as it was on the nation of Israel.  Our blessing is the direct result of openness and obedience to the Word of God and the direction it establishes.

This is a call to reaffirm the foundational principles of our constitution, the source of those principles who is God and the Judeo Christian ethic that is intertwined in who we are as America and Americans.  It is our responsibility as Christians to keep the original principals this country was founded on at the top of the priority list.  We cannot forget to seek God and Divine Guidance in all we do as a nation.  We must not forget Him and what He has done for us!

Scripture to Claim:.
It shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.   Deuteronomy 8:11-20