I remember how pleased I was when I saw the first pictures of bombers taking off from American aircraft carriers heading for Afghanistan soon after the nine eleven event in 2001.  My thoughts went back to my childhood where “America” was our mantra and we shouted in chorus, “America will win!”  The Americans were the invincible, they were our heroes.

“We shall prevail”, president George W. Bush assured us immediately after the terror act on World Trade Center, and again the enthusiasm of my childhood was revived. Yes, preach it, mr Bush!

Today however America is on the verge of a bankruptcy.  It is still the world´s superpower number one, but economically China has it in its pocket.  And yet China can´t do without America.  My country can´t either.  When America goes to war, we go too hoping to make this world safer and better.

But the world has not become a better world.  We´ve helped the Moslem world to become more Moslem and more antagonistic to gospel missions and to Israel.  The Moslem countries we naively lend a hand will not allow a single Christian church to be built.  That´s the way they pay back our foolish kindness.  God is not blessing The United States of America and her allies.  We shall not prevail.

When Billy Graham in his young days warned about God´s righteous judgment on a country who has turned its back on God despite its hundred thousands of churches, he was not taken seriously.  He yearned for a Nineveh awakening, but didn´t see it happen and concluded, “We, the disciples of Christ, are still a minority…”

Indeed we are.  We should not be busy about rubbishing our leaders, but pray for them and for ourselves that we may now at “closing time” humble ourselves in the Spirit of Daniel 9, Nehemiah 9 and Ezra 9 crying for revival in our own lives and be less concerned about the failure of our government.

A few years ago I read in a newspaper in San Diego that Bush was hoping for a third awakening in America, in fact he was expecting it.  That may have been a good newspaper heading only, but the core of it may very well be a message to us common Christians “on the floor”.

We should encourage each other to follow the examples of Daniel, Nehemiah and Ezra and other praying people, men and women, who did prevail on their knees, for “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much”  (James 5:16), no matter how bad the political situation is.

Sept. 9, 2011 - jn