In Victoria, which is our new Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s home state, they can abort a baby up to birth. NSW is just as bad with high
rates of abortion and the proposed Homosexual Adoption Bill which has been put forward by Clover Moore MP.
Yet no state of Australia has a monopoly on vice as "all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God".
We, as the people of God, must accept responsibility and cry out to God for forgiveness on behalf of our land. We must also pray for our leaders as in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 which includes our new Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott. It is critical at this time that we pray for them.
The scriptural injunction for our prayers is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will 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.”
In Joel 2:15-17 we read, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
Ezekiel 22: 30-31 says, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger,
bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
The people of God have a responsibility to intercede for the nation just as Daniel did and say forgive us "our" sin. Daniel is one of the few men in the bible who had no sins recorded against his name but he still said forgive "us" Lord. Abraham did the same as he interceded
for Sodom and Gomorrah. Fasting is all about humbling ourselves before God. The Hebrew word "Kana" for humbling is used in the
same context to describe fasting. It is about denying ourselves as a prayer to God.
You don’t have to fast every day over the 40 day period. Miss a meal once a day or fast once a week. Miss out on your sweets, drop tea
and coffee or conduct a Daniel fast and go vegetarian for 40 days. There are many ways to fast. Whichever way you pray and fast do it unto the Lord.
Please join in this Call to Prayer for our nation.
It says in Proverbs, "Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach for any people". Please pass this information on to all individuals, churches and prayer groups interested in prayer so that as many as possible can join in this 40 Days of Prayer for our nation. Let us believe together for an outpouring of grace and healing from God for our nation.
Yours in His Service
Warwick & Alison Marsh
www.24-7prayer.org.au
www.christianvalues.org.au
