America Will Never Be Great Again Until We Acknowledge That God Is Great

Political division. Impeachment hearings. Waning church attendance. Young people walking away from the faith. A PC agenda pushed on the culture.

The list of deep concerns for America goes on and on. With a crucial 2020 presidential election now less than a year away, the American Pastors Network (APN) has embarked on an inspirational, exciting and very necessary prayer initiative called “52 Tuesdays.” The yearlong prayer focus calls on Christians to pray for America as never before.

APN President Sam Rohrer said that after launching “52 Tuesdays” on the “Stand in the Gap Today” radio program, which airs on 425 stations nationwide, feedback from listeners was extremely positive and hopeful.

“This is a crucial season for prayer in America,” Rohrer said. “And prayer does not only have to be driven by pastors in the church, although pastoral leadership is of utmost importance. Prayer can and should also be driven by our national leaders. But prayer should also be initiated by citizens and moms and dads in the home.”

Rohrer added that for nearly every election in America’s history, Christians have been heavily involved, whether by fundraising, mobilization, recruiting candidates or education efforts.

“Many of those who are driving the evangelical involvement in our nation’s most significant elections and those who are out plying the boat are doing nothing different than what has been done for the past generation, which really hasn’t led to any real change in the American election process nor certainly the culture within our nation,” Rohrer said. “What has to be different for 2020?”

One notable difference was the historic 2016 election, Rohrer added, but that outcome was not human-driven.

“No one can take credit for the window that God provided in most recent history,” Rohrer said.

“Elections are a time, forced by the calendar, to call on Christians to check their hearts to ensure they are grounded in God rather than in a man or woman who seeks to run the country,” he added. “America will never be great again until we return to a time when we acknowledge in our minds and hearts that the God of the Bible is great.”

A listener from Madison, Wisconsin, said she was encouraged and challenged by the “52 Tuesdays” prayer initiative when she heard a Nov. 12 interview with Rohrer on “Crosstalk” with host Jim Schneider, which airs in several states on the VCY America network.

“I said ‘Amen’ during that program more than I probably have any program, and that may be due to the growing desperation that many of us feel as we see what is going on around us,” she said. “I pray for President Trump regularly … but I continue to recognize what the true need is, and this is what your (program) hit right on the head. I have long been attempting to confront my own life and to challenge my six children, as well as appeal to my husband, who has been responding. I am burdened to share with whomever the Lord brings me to, especially with other women, regarding getting our lives right before God. Thank you for this program and this particular message. This is the bottom line. This is what has to be there underneath whatever else we are engaged in with in our friends, family, co-workers, church and culture.”

For “52 Tuesdays,” APN’s calls on all pastors to weekly encourage their congregations to pray with “who, what, when, where, why and how” in mind, as each American carefully considers our nation, its leaders, and the meaning, the gravity and the outcome of praying for America.

Rohrer added that this special year of prayer will focus on the biblical basics of prayer, such as why we pray, what prayer is and what we are called to pray for as citizens. These basics will be explored on the “Stand in the Gap Today” radio program and Tuesdays will be dedicated topics for prayer, including prayer for the president, the nation and for repentance as well as closing in prayer in each Stand in the Gap Today daily program.

To kick off “52 Tuesdays” on Nov. 12, Rohrer and co-hosts Gary Dull and Dave Kistler welcomed journalist, best-selling author and Christian publisher Stephen E. Strang to the “Stand in the Gap Today” program, which airs on hundreds of stations nationwide. Strang is the author of the forthcoming book, “God, Trump, and the 2020 Election: Why He Must Win and What’s at Stake for Christians if He Loses.” Listen to the program here.

On future Tuesdays, regular fourth segments of the daily, one-hour program will be dedicated to these prayer discussions, and guests to the show will be part of the prayers as well. Additionally, the “Stand in the Gap Today” co-hosts will be inviting listeners to pray with them, and live engagement will also occur through a variety of platforms.

Photo by twinsfisch on Unsplash