07/20/2021
A United Prayer Over America
Join me in praying for our nation. This is a prayer posted by Steve Hall, International Renewal Ministries, on ChristNow.com.
Calling Down the Supremacy of Christ
on a Nation in Crisis
Dear God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We bow before your divine Son. He is God, eternal with you and the Holy Spirit. In him, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form.
We worship him as the incomparable Word of God. He is Alpha and Omega, Head of the Church, Savior, King of Kings, Image of the Invisible God, Radiance of God’s Glory, Good Shepherd, Lamb of God, Supreme Commander, Hope of Glory, Lord of the Harvest, I AM, Resurrection and Life, Great High Priest, Living Water, Son of Man, Author and Finisher of our Faith, True Vine, Bread of Life, Messiah, Bridegroom, Refuge and Fortress, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Servant, Master, Door, Wonderful Counselor—and infinitely more!
We praise your Son, Creator and Sustainer of all heaven and earth.
Hallelujah!
[You] exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (1)
We celebrate how Jesus is filling the universe with his sovereign presence right now!
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders…the voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic; the voice of the Lord twists the oaks…And in his temple all cry, “Glory!” The Lord is enthroned as King forever. (2)
We exult in the Son because he came “to destroy the devil’s work”. He alone is victorious over all the forces of darkness, and you are making his enemies a footstool for his feet. Now you are extending his mighty scepter, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies.” (3)
We declare Jesus to be Messiah, our only foundation on whom you are building the Church worldwide. Because he is the Son of the Living God, the gates of hell and death will not be able to stop the advance of his kingdom! (4)
Christ is ALL! Christ rules in the midst of all. We also worship him as our ALL.(5)
Before all of heaven we sing:
“All hail the power of Jesus’ name.
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!”
Now, Father, we cry out to you for our troubled country in this critical hour. We do so in the name of your glorious Son—King of the universe, Lord of the nations, Redeemer of every life on this earth, and Sovereign over all of America.
We do so together. We do so with all of our hearts—first, for the people of God all across our land, and then for the nation as a whole.
Prayer for the Church
Like never before, Father, reveal to Jesus followers in every corner of our country, the boundless magnificence and unparalleled wonders of the supremacy of the living, reigning Christ. Cause us to be stupefied with his greatness and profoundly awed with his goodness. Expand our ability to see the wider spectrums of your glory as revealed “in the face of Christ.” Awaken us to the full extent of his majesty, beauty, authority, and dominion. (6)
In anticipation of your answer to our cry, we join with the continuous praise resounding in heaven. We add our voices to those of saints and angels as we declare: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and praise!” (7)
Next, we humbly confess that too often we believers have been distracted by selfish and worldly pleasures—and we have drifted from giving Jesus our preeminent love. We have become “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” (8)
And so, we pray, may your Spirit “search me and know my heart.” We plead:
Have mercy on me…Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin… Create in me a pure heart…and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. (9)
In turn, we welcome King Jesus to assume his rightful place as Lord in our lives. Once again, we want him to become the center and circumference of our whole existence.
May we, who are sheep of the Good Shepherd, listen to his voice and follow him wholeheartedly. In response to his voice, we throw open the gates for the King of Glory to enter and reign among us in the majesty of his supremacy. More than that, we desire to enter into more of HIM as we make our home at his throne and walk in his presence every day. (10)
For us, “to live is Christ”! Earnestly we ask you to show us how to live and move and have our being in him! Therefore, show us how to die to ourselves. Order all our words, actions, desires, prayers, plans, and passions towards that one grand ambition. As a way of life, help us focus daily on his love, mercy, grace, righteousness, freedom, self-control, obedience, humility, and submission to the Father’s will. (11)
Restore to your people throughout America the higher love—the agape love—of Jesus. Cause that love to wash away everything within us that is unloving, divisive, hateful, cold-hearted, hard-hearted, resentful, or bitter. Transform us to love you with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength, and our neighbors (whatever their politics or lifestyles or ethnicities) as ourselves. (12)
Right now, we surrender and relinquish all we are or have or hope to be to the faithful Son of God as those already completely “hidden with Christ in God.” Do whatever is necessary in the lives of any of us, your people, who have turned away from the love of Christ—so that we will return to him. Deliver us from all that divides us—socially, culturally, racially, ideologically. (13)
Through the power of your Spirit, may Christ’s kingdom come and his will be done—in us and through us—for his greater glory! We devote ourselves afresh to becoming faithful witnesses of the abounding hope we have in Jesus—spreading that hope to other believers as well as to the desperately needy people around us.
Ultimately, the cry of our hearts is for nothing less than a fresh nationwide awakening inside the Body of Christ in America to our reigning Savior and all he is today. May the whole Church in our land become wholly alive to the whole vision of the whole Christ. By your Spirit and your Word, reintroduce your people to the fullness of the person, passions, power, and purposes of our Lord Jesus.
May your people become so saturated with the supremacy of Christ that, in turn, they begin to saturate their communities and cities with the gospel of Christ.
Prayer for the Nation
With the hope of that awakening in view, now we turn to pray for our nation. But first of all, Father, we want to thank you for loving the whole world—not just America. You loved us so much you sent your Son for us. Jesus is the inexhaustible expression of that everlasting love.
You sent him to all of the nations as one of us, to be among us—to be like us and for us. You sent him to die on the cross for the sins of the human race. You sent him to rise victorious from the grave, bringing all who belong to him into eternal life. You sent him to share his risen, reigning, saving, transforming life with all who trust in him as Savior and Lord of all. You sent him to inherit, liberate, and rule supreme over all creation, for all ages to come. (14)
Therefore—we boldly pray for a fresh, awakening to Christ, not only in your Church but also throughout our entire society. The rapid spiritual and moral freefall in America today is beyond any person’s ability to reverse and heal. We are living in a generation overflowing with conflict and chaos. Masses of our citizens are lost in worldly attractions, sin, confusion, rebellion, fear, deception, hopelessness and, above all, a lack of understanding about the gospel and person of Jesus. Everywhere we look, we see deadly pandemic, financial uncertainties, racial injustice, immorality, hatred, lies, political wars, terrorism, corruption, injustice, as well as leadership crises on every level.
Therefore—we hold to the mandate of Isaiah 61 fulfilled right now by how Jesus reigns supreme:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Therefore—we declare before you and all creation: Christ is the ONLY answer for America in this divisive and dangerous hour! He is not only all we need and all we want; he is all we HAVE! He alone is the Way and the Truth and the Life! He alone is the Living Hope—the hope for this land for all the glorious things you have purposed and promised through him. (15)
On behalf of our country, we are compelled to seek your face, Father—to do so without ceasing—that you might bring the supremacy of Christ down upon America, like never before, in all of his saving power. Do so quickly, wherever and however you desire! We raise up over the peoples of America a prayer found in a time-honored hymn that says:
“Lead on, O King eternal,
till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
and holiness shall whisper the sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords’ loud clashing or roll of stirring drums,
with deeds of love and mercy, the heavenly kingdom comes.”
For people who are resisting the gospel and the saving lordship of Jesus, we pray you will deliver them from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son . We ask you to demolish arguments and every pretension that has set itself up against the knowledge of God in their lives and take captive their every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (16)
Help unredeemed people see Emmanuel for who he truly is—“God WITH us.” Put a consuming hunger in their hearts that can be satisfied only by turning to and trusting in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. May multitudes of men, women, youth, boys, and girls in every corner of our land learn of and receive your gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord—right now! (17).
Father, through our sovereign Jesus, the Light of the World, expose the depth of darkness and death that is seeking to overwhelm our nation, and by his mighty power, overcome all the works of the devil. May Christ’s light pe*****te into homes, families, schools, businesses, neighborhoods, organizations, political parties, cities and communities, governmental agencies—and above all, into every heart.
Here is how we proclaim our desire for America:
“Shine, Jesus shine.
Fill this land with the Father’s glory.
Blaze, Spirit blaze.
Set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river flow.
Flood the nations with grace and mercy.
Send forth your word, Lord,
and let there be light!”
Concluding Appeal to Heaven
We take the challenge of Isaiah 64 seriously as we prepare to take hold of its appeal:
“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!…
come down to make your name known to your enemies
and cause the nations to quake before you!
For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,
you came down…
Since ancient times no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.”
Accordingly, WE CALL DOWN UPON AMERICA—upon our churches and all our citizens—the spectacular supremacy of Jesus—in order to renew, reclaim, and rebuild the entire American experiment from the ground up, as he takes his rightful place as our Chief Cornerstone.
WE CALL DOWN the promise of Jesus—to bring a spiritual revolution to those who seek him for it; we call down his willingness—to revive us with his risen, reigning life; we call down his power—to bring forth on this continent a new nation that has been thoroughly awakened to Christ for ALL he is.
WE CALL DOWN the ability of Jesus—to heal the COVID virus along with all other diseases as well as to mercifully reconstitute our sick and broken economy.
WE CALL DOWN the justice of Jesus—to overcome every kind of oppression and inequity; we call down his righteousness—to purge us of our great immoralities; we call down his honesty and purity—to liberate us from all our corruptions.
WE CALL DOWN the empathy of Jesus—to flood the hearts of protesters; we call down his reconciling blood—to dispel hatred and racism of every kind; we call down his truth—to overcome all deceptions and lies.
WE CALL DOWN the courage, integrity, and servant heart of Jesus—to invade and redirect the lives of our leaders; we call down his graciousness and respect—to redefine and recalibrate our many political disagreements; we call down his divine intervention—in the selection of candidates in upcoming elections, in our choices of who should lead us into a time of national renewal.
WE CALL DOWN the victories of Jesus—to triumph over the hearts of terrorists, domestic or otherwise; we call down his protection and discipline for our police—to release in them a predisposition toward justice, compassion, courage, and self-control; we call down his kingdom transformation—to confront and cure every endemic system of injustice, racial and otherwise, throughout our land.
WE CALL DOWN the compassionate deliverance of Jesus—to be poured out with great effect upon the poor, the disenfranchised, the hungry, the abandoned, the homeless, and the sinned-against.
WE CALL DOWN the peace of Jesus—to prevail in all places of fear, discord, distrust, hostility, and hatred, just as he promised: “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (18)
ULTIMATELY, WE CALL DOWN a fresh revelation of Jesus—that the spectacular greatness and glory, fullness and power, authority and sovereignty, lordship and love of the Lamb of God who reigns forever at the center of the Throne would saturate the whole Church and all people of our nation (19)!
Father, we make this heart cry with abounding expectations that you will answer us “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” (20) Thus, we close this united prayer by turning the blessing back to you, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, using the benediction from Jude:
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen. (ESVUK)
AMEN!
Note: This prayer can be used in three ways:
(1) Incorporate it into your personal prayer times;
use it often this month.
(2) With a group or congregation, one person prays it out loud,
while the others follow along on their own printed copy.
(3) Pray it responsively, with the group praying everything in BOLD
and the leader praying everything else.
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FOOTNOTES:
(1) Philippians 2; (2) Psalm 29; (3) Psalm 110; (4) 1 Corinthians 3; Matthew 16; (5) Colossians 3; (6) 2 Corinthians 4; (7) Revelation 5; (8) Revelation 3; (9) Psalm 139; Psalm 51; (10) John 10; (11) Acts 17; (12) Matthew 22; (13) Colossians 3; (14) John 3:16; (15) John 14; 1 Peter 1; (16) Colossians 1; 2 Corinthians 10; (17) Romans 6; (18) John 16; (19) Revelation 7; (20) 1 John 5; Ephesians 3.
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About the Author
Steve Hall is an ordained pastor and represents International Renewal Ministries in Washington State and the Philippines. His consuming passion for more than 40 years has been to know Christ all he possibly can and to help other Christian leaders grow in their awe and love of Him by constantly encouraging them to live in Christ’s supremacy and to unite in seeking Him. Steve wrote a daily devotional book called I Want to Know More of Christ. It is based upon 365 names or attributes of Christ to help readers worship and love Christ more and surrender themselves completely to Him. If you want to talk about Christ’s greatness, please contact Steve anytime at [email protected].
