In light of the frightful conditions we are observing, one would think that every Bible-believing church in America would be on its knees in special and fervent prayer for the nation. But this is not happening. Far from it. I don't know of any churches that are taking the situation seriously enough for special prayer. It would appear that they don't believe that the situation is truly grim, or they don't believe that prayer can accomplish anything in this particular situation.
Following are some of the reasons why I believe the situation is truly grim and that unless we get hold of God in prayer, we are in deep trouble.
1. Our constitutional freedoms are rapidly disappearing. In my lifetime we have lost constitutional liberty within wide swaths of society, particularly those parts of society that are under government control. We have lost our constitutional liberty in the public schools at all levels. Go to any government-funded school or college or university and try teaching that homosexuality is a moral abomination, that evolution is a lie, that the world was made in six days by Almighty God, that abortion is murder, that sex outside marriage is a sin, that there is only one way of salvation and those who reject Christ go to an eternal hell, and that Islam is a false religion that preaches a false Christ and that demands violent jihad to conquer the world for Allah. We have lost our constitutional freedoms in business. Business owners are not at liberty to say what they please or to practice their religion if such speech and religion contract government-approved humanistic thought and "morality." We have lost our constitutional freedoms in the military. I have friends who have resigned from the chaplaincy because there is no longer the liberty for even a chaplain to speak biblical truth in the military. We have lost our constitutional freedoms at the Supreme Court. It is the Supreme Court which has greatly restricted freedom of speech and freedom of religion, which has replaced the beautiful Bill of Rights with its own constructs such as the mythical freedom of privacy and separation of church and state.
2. The majority of U.S. citizens are ill informed and misinformed. More sound education is available today than ever before to inform people of the truth about every major issue, including the Bible, human origins, the economy, and Islam, but the average citizen is not interested. If he gets any news, it is the brief news report from a rock or sports radio station, which is mere liberal propaganda.
3. A corner has been turned in America, whereby a majority of public opinion is set in opposition to the Bible's teaching on such things as fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and hell.
4. Most professing Christians are unregenerate and are in love with the world.
5. The wicked pop culture has captivated the hearts of the vast majority of "Christian" youth even in the best of churches.
6. America's financial ruin is on the horizon.
7. Islam is making rapid gains. Foolish judges have ruled that Sharia law can be practiced in America. Islamic propagandists have succeeded in foisting the lie that Islam is a religion of peace and that the terrorists are "extremists." They have succeeded in making it impossible to teach the truth about Islam's history and character in government schools, the military, and other government agencies and nearly impossible to teach this truth in any public setting.
8. Homosexuals have gained great power, and they intend to shut the mouths of Bible Christians in every public sphere. Public opinion has swung in favor of moral perversion.
9. Decades of conservative political action hasn't turned the tide. The millions of hours of conservative talk radio, of Fox News broadcasts, the blogs, the bragging fervor of Moral Majorities and Tea Parties, the bombastic noise from shrill conservative women -- it has done nothing to keep the most wicked individuals from holding power over the nation or to halt the slide to destruction.
10. The majority of conservative, Bible-believing churches are barely holding their own if not dying. The churches that are prospering are rare. As a rule, the Bible-believing churches are seeing few converts, have few members that are true disciples of Christ, have few young people who are seeking God's will, and are producing few preachers. Most of the strong preachers are older. Most of the young ones are moving rapidly in a contemporary direction.
11. The most conservative church movement in the nation is rapidly giving up separation and becoming worldly. When I was saved in 1973 at age 23, I joined an independent Baptist church because it was different from the worldly, lukewarm Southern Baptist Convention in which I grew up. Independent Baptists practiced ecclesiastical separation and separation from the world without apology. They rejected "Christian" rock music unequivocally. But we are witnessing an upheaval. We are witnessing a great blending. Today the average independent Baptist church has given up on separation and is little different from a Southern Baptist congregation.
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; THEN WILL I HEAR FROM HEAVEN, AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN, AND WILL HEAL THEIR LAND" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; THAT WE MAY LEAD A QUIET AND PEACEABLE LIFE IN ALL GODLINESS AND HONESTY. FOR THIS IS GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE IN THE SIGHT OF GOD OUR SAVIOUR; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:1-4).