Before I jump on the bandwagon I must ask myself: Is such a call to prayer [i]really[/i] according to the will of God?
I remember a verse in Jeremiah:
[u]Do not pray for this people, for their good[/u].
Jer 14:12 "When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence."
Here is the verse preceding this one:
The Lord has determined to punish the sins of His people and there is no turning back. So He tells Jeremiah not to pray for them, for their good.
Perhaps America will turn back to Lord, if ever, only after His judgments have come upon her, for in His judgments He is made known. If the righteous judgment of God cannot put people down on their knees, then what can?
Remember how Abraham prayed for the [i]righteous[/i] men in Sodom? He didn't pray for the salvation of the wicked population of Sodom, but for the righteous, of which was Lot, and the righteous were [i]barely[/i] saved. You know what happened--and what happens--to the ungodly.
Sometimes we get too sentimental and somehow want God to not administer justice, to pardon sin without confession and repentance. Thus we pray for things contrary to His will--for things that we would like to see happen. Like praying for revival in the land, when God has said that it will be judged because of the people's continuous idolatry and rejection. This happens because we want to have the former faithfulness restored without paying the price of our disobedience. We don't understand what sin is and what it deserves. Indeed, there are times when we cry out for revival, but there also are times when we pray for the judgment of God to come. "Come, Lord Jesus!" For when He comes, sin shall be no more. In fact, the two (revival and judgment) could be the result of one and the same thing. But it is often our unwillingness to acknowledge and accept God's ultimate judgment of sin--beginning with our own sin--which makes us continually intercede for the ungodly and the backslidden, that in spite of everything they would be spared. It is easier for us to relate to men than to God. So we pray on their behalf instead of beseeching them on His. It's like we've become sinners' advocates, not Christ's ambassadors.
I am also reminded of how the Lord prayed for the people who crucified Him: "Forgive them, Father, for they don't know what they are doing." He prayed for those who persecuted Him, leaving us an example. But also, when He prayed for His disciples before Golgotha, the Lord Jesus did not pray for those who did not receive Him: "Joh 17:9 I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours." Not for the world, but for those God has called out of the world or will call out.
So when we talk about praying for America, we need to ask ourselves [i]who[/i] it is we are praying for, and [i]why[/i], and [i]whether[/i] such prayer is the will of God. He has promised us "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" to those who ask of Him:
Luk 11:9 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Luk 11:10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Luk 11:11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?
Luk 11:12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
Luk 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"
