Day 1

Forty Days of Prayer for Our Country- Day 1

Thank you for joining me in this spiritual challenge of praying for our country.  I pray that you will be blessed as you read these daily posts and encouraged not only to pray for the things spoken of here but also for things that God may bring to your mind as you read.

Scripture:
"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."  Isaiah 7:9

Thought for the day:
In reading through the book of Isaiah, it hit me for the first time what dire straits Judah faced in chapter 7.  The Aramean army had come to Jerusalem to conquer it.  If that were not bad enough, they were joined by the northern tribes of Israel under King Pekah.  Brother had turned upon brother.  Hebrew had betrayed Hebrew and Israel had turned from her God.   Isaiah records that the hearts of the king and the people of Judah were "shaken as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind"(v.2).   Does that sound like our day?

 In all this conflict and betrayal, Jerusalem stood.  Isaiah was given a word to share - God would not allow Jerusalem to fall. But in that word of hope was a word of caution, "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all"(v.9).  That sounds like a good word for us today in our "heart shaking" times.  Despite all that is wrong, there is a hope to stand if we stand as God calls us to stand.

Prayer Points for Today:
- Pray that we as a church, and Christians across our nation, would grow strong in our faith.
- Pray that we would believe in the power of prayer before a mighty God.
- Pray that we would stand together believing God can do a work in us and in our nation during these 40 Days

Memory Verse for the Week:
"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."  Isaiah 7:9

Challenge for the Week - Voter Registration
The last day to register to vote for the November 6 election is October 9.  Do you know someone who is eligible but might not be registered to vote?  A child who is at least 18 by election day?  A grandchild?  A student who is away at college?  A new neighbor?  Ask, encourage, and equip them.  We have a few voter registration cards in the church office.