The Bible encourages us to call upon the Lord in every situation in our lives and, by extension, in our land.  Our God who never sleeps will hear our prayers 24/7.  So it only seems right that the one duty of every Christ-following person blessed to live in this country is to pray for this nation.  The One we call to has promised to listen.

Psalm 17:6 - I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
Psalm 116:2 - Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as lomg as I live.

Lord,
You have asked us to call to you, with the promise that You will answer when we do.  We humbly seek Your guidance for our nation.  Give us wisdom so that we will be a people filled with Your presence and guided by Your Spirit.  Help us, O Lord, to honor You in word and deed, that we as a people will have Your blessing and favor.
​Amen

God desires that this great nation will turn to Him, read His Word, and obey His commands for the good of the country.  Throughout history, God has faithfully led us through trials, wars, economic crisis, and social issues coming to a boil.  Every time He has seen us through and blessed our land far more than we deserve.  Let us always seek the Lord for His direction for our blessed land.

Psalm 81:1 - Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you.

Father,
We seek your sovereign blessing on our nation.  Forgive us for our shortcomings and for the times when we fail You.  Draw us back to Your love and strengthen us as a nation to and honor You in all that we do.  May we be forever faithful to the calling that You have given us.  We respectfully and humbly give thanks for Your continued blessing.
​Amen

​Matthew 21:12-13, 1 Corinthians 6:12, 19
 
On Monday, the Bible tells us that Jesus entered the Temple and drove out all those buying and selling in the temple.  He said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a robbers’ den!”  What the people were doing was not illegal, but it also wasn’t for God.  1 Corinthians 6:12 tells us, “all things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable.”  Paul is telling that just because it’s not against the law, doesn’t mean that it is good for us or our walk as a follower of Christ.   Many times in our lives, we find ourselves trying to justify the things that we are doing by saying, “it’s not against the law.”  Later on in the same chapter of 1 Corinthians in verse 19, Paul reminds us that, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own.”
 
The same way that Jesus entered into the temple and drove out all the things that were not glorifying God, we should be praying the same thing.  Jesus come into this temple and drive out all the things that keep me from being “a house of prayer”.  How do you see your spiritual life?  Do you see yourself as a temple for the Holy Spirit? Or do you see yourself as a tent? 
 
This wasn’t the first time that Jesus cleansed the temple, in the same way, just because you have accepted Jesus into your heart doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need cleansing.  If we are honest, we need to be asking Jesus to cleanse this temple daily.  That is my prayer for us as we being our journey through Holy Week that we would begin each day asking Jesus to cleanse our hearts, driving out all the things that doesn’t glorify God.  Turn over the tables and chairs that Satan has placed there becoming more and more comfortable.