Saturday Night Musings

Obama, No prayer in the White House. The White House planned a muted observance of recognizing the National Day of Prayer which drew fire from Christian conservatives and atheists as well who wants this tradition to come to an abrupt end. Congress established a National Day of Prayer in 1952 and in 1988 it was set for the first Thursday in May for Presidents issuing a proclamation asking Americans to pray.

And it came to pass, that as he prayed in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciple said unto him, Lord teach us to pray.

Our Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for being our God and our Savior. For the gift of eternal life, for your divine providence and sovereign grace, and for the opportunity we have to serve you in this great country of America, we are humbled and grateful.

I come to you on the behalf of our newly elected President of the United States, Barack Obama. I’m asking that you grant him the mind of Christ, that he might do those things that will honor you and your Word. Give him a heart that cries out to you for wisdom and leadership. May he know that it is righteousness that exalts a nation.

Father, bless his family. Protect him in harms way. Place a hedge around Michelle and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. May this first family be the example for America’s families. Keep them safe in the residence that you have provided for them.

Lord, you have lifted him by the will of the people as the most powerful person in the world. Now, he needs the prayers of those people.  Praying for him is the right thing to do. Help us not to sin against you or fail him by not praying. You have told us that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much. Now we lift him to you.

We ask that you might surround him with godly men who will give him good and clear advice. Help him to seek your will, follow the paths you have ordered for him, and lead him with confidence. I pray that he will safeguard our borders for us and our children that we might lead a quiet and peaceful life. I ask that many will come to Christ as Savior as he puts God and country first. May his heart always be tender and sensitive!

Father, we ask that President Obama will be the strong man for Israel and will always be on their right side. Help him to help them so they will never have to go alone when combating their enemies. Remind him to pray for the peace of Israel as we do.

I ask too, that he will always stand up for those who can not stand up for themselves. May he uphold the Constitution and work hard to preserve the life of the unborn. Father, the blood of our babies continues to cry from our land. Help him to help us, all of us, insuring the sanctity of life from the womb to the tomb.

As President Obama is now our Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, give him a thankful heart to those who are giving their time that we and others might be free. May he respect our men and women in uniform who defend our rights and freedoms.

Assure him of the people’s prayers. Let him know that this one nation under God is the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Let him know he has more than 7,000 prayer warriors standing on his behalf. And because of the people’s prayers, there are better citizens, better neighbors, and good Presidents become better Presidents.

This is my prayer for President Barak Obama. I ask this in Jesus name, amen.

It seems to me, that President Barack Obama needs our prayers and God answers our prayers. If we want God’s continued blessings on America, then we must pray. Simple!

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   Bruce Wilkerson wrote a book entitled: “The Prayer of Jabez”,  which has sold over 9 million copies!  He says if you pray the prayer that Jabez prayed: And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested., once a day for 30 days many wonderful things will begin to happen to you. Now, I’m not so sure about that as if it is some quick mumbo-jumbo, in God’s face, lottery ticket for prosperity. I believe in prayer,  do I ever believe in prayer, but is it always God will for anyone and everyone to have some magical code to click for your train to come in? This belief must be laid side by side to the passage which says the poor will never depart from the land. The corners of the grain field must be left standing for the strangers and the destitute to reap.  

The prayer of Jabez was mentioned only once in the scriptures (I Chron. 4:9,10), it was never repeated by another in the Bible, no other writer made mention of this prayer, and we never hear of Jabez after his prayer. It seems to me that this prayer has little merit in giving a supernatural formula which anyone can just simply repeat and be assured of answers like God gave to Jabez. Just like Jabez our name has a meaning.

Jabez means: “son of sorrow”. His mother gave him that name during his birth. I like this man—Jabez, he called upon the God of Israel in prayer for a life that would exemplify God’s grace. Ask God to change your name to a new meaning in life like He changed Abram’s name to—Abraham. Abram’s name (exalted father) was changed to Abraham (father of a multitude) when God placed the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet “h” in the 5th place of Abram’s name. This gave new meaning—the number 5 is the number of grace. It was through God’s grace that gave us Abraham, the father of our faith! Just like Jabez, has God changed anything about you? 

God loves hearing prayers just like Jabez. Read Jabez prayer carefully—it appears to me that Jabez did not get to finish his prayer as one normally does. He did not get to thank God at the end of his prayer or if his prayer was in God’s will or even to end his prayer…”in Jesus’ name”! (I just added that one!) God interrupted his prayer quickly and gave him his request. Out of all the names mentioned in the genealogies of the Chronicles, only Jabez prayer is cited! Sometimes God chooses to say yes to some and say no to others. Either way God answers prayer in His way and his answers are always the best for us. Paul prayed three times for a thorn to be removed. God chose not to grant his request, but did give him sufficient grace. Do we get what we want or do we get what we need? Just like Jabez, let God do what he wants to do just for you.  

I think too, just like Jabez, he was plain, simple and honest in his prayer. What ever the reasons were for what he was asking for, Jabez was earnest and specific with his request. If we need three loaves of bread because of some unexpected or uninvited guest that shows up at midnight—I believe we can ask God for those needs. God said to Solomon, ask what you want. Since God is who God is, we can ask Him for any thing. Ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, and knock and keep on knocking.  Be it 30 days, 30 years or until our last breath, God loves the effectual prayer of a righteous man. 

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