June 20, AD 2011

Gov. Rick Perry's Day of Prayer:
A Matter of Focus
Frank Allnutt

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has declared August 6, 2011 a “Day of Prayer and Fasting for a Nation in Crisis.”

In the Governor’s declaration, he stated: “Given the trials that have beset our country and world--from the global economic downturn to natural disasters, the lingering danger of terrorism and wars that endanger our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and theaters of conflict around the globe, and the decline of our culture in the context of the demise of families--it seems imperative that the people of our nation should once again join together for a solemn day of prayer and fasting on behalf of our troubled nation.”

Many of us already are praying on a regular basis over these “trials” that have beset our country. We are probably most inclined to pray first for those that afflict us, whether directly or indirectly, as well as for others so afflicted.

How will it be on Gov. Perry’s Day of Prayer? I wonder in my prayers for that coming day.

No doubt some will pray for God to remove our country's “trials," whether through human endeavor or miraculous intervention.

And some will ask God, “Why have you allowed these trials to come upon us?” And, “Why, God, do you allow bad things to happen to good people--especially to Your children who love You, Worship You, and Serve You?”

The Bible answers those questions. And in the short space of this article, I’ll briefly quote but part of what the Scriptures tell us.

Fiery Ordeals
I begin with a message from First Peter Chapter Four to Christians who, in their time, were suffering the trials of persecution. Peter challenged them to understand their persecution as sharing in the “sufferings of Christ.” That same perspective applies to all believers throughout time in the face of all sorts of trials, persecution and otherwise. And it applies today to those of us believers in America and around the world.

To quote from Peter’s letter: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.... For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God” (1 Peter 4:12, 17a).

You might ask: “What is this ‘testing’ and ‘judgment’ all about?”

Notice that Peter neither calls his Christian readers to pray for God to deliver them from their trials, nor for God to somehow change the world to be friendly toward them. You see, Peter knew that we live in a fallen world, and he understood the teaching of Jesus that the world hates Christians because it hates Him (John 17, especially verses 13-21). And if Peter's readers had not been taught this, they surely had learned it from observation and personal experience. And that is why Peter focuses not on trials per se, but on the “testing” and the “judgment” of “the household of God.”

We find biblical elucidation by Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, where he discusses communion: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly” (1 Corinthians 11:28-29).

At the Lord’s table, most of us certainly “judge the body” of our crucified Lord whose blood and body are symbolized in the wine and the bread--His sacrifice for us. But there is even more insight to be gained.

Brother Andrew (many know him as “God’s Smuggler”) many years ago explained to a small group of us that before partaking of communion we are to examine our hearts to determine if we “judge the body rightly.” In doing so, he suggested another meaning of that phrase which calls into question whether we are rightly acknowledging the suffering, loss, and needs of others in our midst who belong to the body of Christ--that person sitting next to us in the pew, the family that lives across the street, a co-worker, and all other neighbors across the nation and around the world.

Communion with Jesus takes place at the Lord’s table, but also whenever we commune with Him through prayer.

Evidently, some of the Corinthians rightly judged themselves before communion, but others did not. “For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep” (verse 30). And, of the former he pointed out: “But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged” (verse 31).

Then Paul leaves us with this: “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world” (verse 32).

I hope you caught the point Paul was making: If we do not judge ourselves, God will discipline us to indeed examine ourselves.

And quite often, as Peter points out, God's discipline is the wake-up call of various trials: “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God” (1 Peter 4:12, 17a).

Examination and Change
Many of us are quick to examine our country’s trials and eagerly pray and work for change. But sometimes we neglect to examine ourselves to determine if our heart is right with God and whether we rightly respond to our neighbors in need.

A lot of changes are needed in America, and the one of utmost importance is a change of heart among so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ--from half-heartedness to whole-heartedness. For in the pews of our churches there are many half-hearted believers who have faltering faith and commitment, and who are Scripturally-challenged, worldly, self-absorbed, and broken.

Let us “judge the body rightly”--hold them up in prayer, stand with them, and reach out to them in practical ways as God enables us to do so.

If you want change in America, then let the change begin in your own heart.

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A Self-Examination of Your Heart
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