Which Politician Can Save Us?

In the past few days and weeks, I have experienced a new sense of urgency about America. I sense that this is a defining moment in our nation’s history. I believe the next year will determine if America continues to be “one nation under God” with liberty and justice for all, or if it continues its downward slide into an abyss of moral chaos, political lawlessness, foreign invasion, and the loss of the values and freedoms that made it great.

We Hold the Key to America’s Future

There is hope, but we must remember that only God can save us. Human nature has a tendency to look for a human king for deliverance as Israel did in the Old Testament. God wanted to be Israel’s King, but the people rejected Him and chose their own carnal king because he was “head and shoulders” above the rest of the people. 

That was well and good until their king encountered a giant who towered over him. It must have been heart-wrenching for them to see their king and his army cower in fear and defeat before Goliath. When we trust in natural human resources and abilities, we will always encounter situations that are beyond are ability to deal. Christians in America must not trust in the flesh at this time in history.

I am happy to see what I believe are committed Christians running for president. However, I am concerned to see prophecies come forth that could have the effect of encouraging people to put their trust in another human king (politician) to save America. We must realize that only God can save us. We must not trust in a politician. We must not trust in the flesh.

Even if America elects a “Christian” president in 2016, that president will be unable to reverse the destructive trends unless a national spiritual awakening unleashes a new and godly moral force in the land. During the next year, there must be a remnant of committed followers of Jesus who pray in faith for another great spiritual awakening in our land. That is the answer for America and every other nation.

History Is on Our Side

In America’s history God has again and again saved the nation from ruin by sending spiritual awakening in response to the sincere prayers of His people. One example is the Great Prayer Awakening of 1857-58, which carried the nation through the Civil War and saved it from total ruin. In this prayer revival, churches and auditoriums were daily filled with people pouring out their hearts to God in prayer and intercession. 

Charles Finney was in Boston that winter and noted that such a spirit of prayer had come upon the people that they preferred prayer meetings to meetings with singing and preaching. Led by lay people, the attitude seemed to be: “We have heard preaching until we are hardened. It is time to pray!”

Finney also described it as a time when “a divine influence seemed to pervade the whole land.” He estimated that at the height of this Great Prayer Awakening, 50,000 were converted in a single week—and that without the aid of modern communication and technology. Conservative estimates place the total number of conversions at close to 1 million.

In Charleston, South Carolina, the black pastor of the Anson Street Presbyterian Church, John Giardeaux, established a prayer meeting in 1858 and exhorted his people to “wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” The prayer service grew until the auditorium was overflowing with more than 2,000 people. As on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit suddenly fell upon those at the Anson Street Church.

They began to sob, softly, like the falling of rain; then, with deeper emotion, to weep bitterly or to rejoice loudly, according to their circumstances. It was midnight before he could dismiss the congregation. The meeting went on night and day for weeks. Large numbers of both black and white were converted and joined churches in the city.

Prayer Changes Things

This spirit of prayer did not stop the war. It did, however, spill over into the war and save the nation from total destruction. The noted historian, Mark A. Noll, says, “Revivals were common in both camps of the Blue and the Gray.”

So strong was the spirit of prayer on both sides that in the early part of the war, when the South seemed to be gaining the upper hand, President Lincoln expressed concern that the “rebel soldiers” were praying more than the Northern troops.

The North did not fare well during the early days of the war. Suffering one defeat after another it looked as though the United States might be destroyed. With things looking grim for the state of the Union, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution asking the president to observe a national day of fasting and prayer.

Lincoln then designated April 30, 1863, as a national day of humiliation, prayer and the confession of national sins, which would include the sin of slavery. After this day of repentance and prayer, there was an almost immediate turn of the war in favor of the North. It happened like this.

Shortly after the North observed the national day of repentance, fasting and prayer, a confident General Robert E. Lee led 76,000 Confederate troops north into Union territory, in other words, into Pennsylvania. The populace was terrified and there was much panic. Lincoln, however, having been impacted by the prayer awakening, found solace in prayer. He said;

When everyone seemed panic-stricken I went to my room and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed. Soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul that God Almighty had taken the whole business into His own hands.

The Confederate forces were defeated at Gettysburg on July 3 and that battle proved to be the turning point for the war. Some would say it was coincidental but the change came on heels of the national day of repentance, prayer and fasting.

The Great Prayer Awakening of 1857-58 saved the nation from total ruin. In their excellent book, Firefall, Malcolm McDow and Alvin Reid write, “The Prayer Revival laid the foundation to give spiritual resources that would help the nation survive this conflict.” With over 600,000 deaths from the war (compared to 50,000 American deaths in WWII), it was by far the greatest tragedy this nation has ever endured and only The Great Prayer Awakening enabled America to survive.

If My People

This is a critical moment in our nation’s history, and a politician will not save us. We must not be swayed by prophecies or political rhetoric to put our trust in “man.” Let us remember the words of Isaiah to Israel at a very critical time in that nation’s history. He wrote, “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us” (Is. 33:22).

Without relinquishing our responsibilities as American citizens, we must turn from any trust in a politician or the next election, and call out to God for His mercy, grace and power on the churches of America. It is time to begin asking God to send another great national awakening to our land. I am convinced that He is poised and ready to send such an awakening when He finds a people praying in sincere and selfless faith out of love for God and country.