The doctor looked at my swollen, black and blue foot and asked. “You do know your foot is broken, right?” I did not know
it but the x-rays proved him correct, my foot was broken. Things get broken all the time. A dish slips from our fingers, a
bottle is dropped from our hands, sit in an old chair and it finally gives way. Some things can be fixed while others can
not. Look at our nation. We were once great, but are we any more? Look around, our economy is bad, we have had
hurricanes that destroyed homes, same with the floods. So what happened to our nation? And more importantly, is it
fixable? Yes, it is fixable but only with God’s help. But God will not help unless we get serious and pray. Most of us are
familiar with the verse 2 Chronicles 7:14:
“If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face
and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land”.
But how many of us are as familiar with Ezekiel 9: 4-6:
“And the Lord said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the
foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in the midst of it. And to the
others He said in my hearing, Follow [the man with the ink bottle] through the city and smite, let not your eye spare,
neither have any pity. Slay outright the elderly, the young man and the virgin, the infant and the women; but do not
touch or go near anyone on whom is the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.”
Most of us know this passage goes along with the book of Revelation, but my point is that God expects His people to
stand in the gap and pray. Remember the judgment was to BEGIN AT MY SANCTUARY. That’s the church. That is you
and I. And we are not just to pray but sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in our land. You may
ask what abominations has our nation committed? What about the 50 million babies sacrificed to the god of
convenience? What would our founding fathers think of that? Our nation was founded on God’s Word. And to think
that now several states have had to amend their state constitutions to say that marriage is only between a man and a
woman proves that homosexuality has grown to gigantic proportions. What about the murders that take place everyday
in this land? And all the gang wars in every major city.
It is so bad that people hardly blink at the crime that goes on throughout this nation. You may be thinking you’re pretty
good if you have never done any of these things, but what about the lies you have told? You may not break into
someone’s home, but did you take a pen or paper clips home from your office? God sees ALL the things we do and I
believe he is grieved over them. If we want our nation to get well, then we need to fall on our knees and ask God to
forgive us from our own sins and the sins of our nation. It is time we cry out to God with a broken and contrite heart just
as Nehemiah did when he prayed in Nehemiah 1:5-7:
“And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with
those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You
may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before you now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants
and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Yes, I and my father’s house have
sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, statutes, and ordinances
which You commanded Your servant Moses.”
Nehemiah was a righteous man but begged God’s forgiveness for him and his nation, Israel. We must do the same. We
have always had God’s blessings on our nation, but how can He bless us when such wickedness prevails throughout our
land? My foot is going to heal, but unless we in earnest seek God and pray, our nation will NOT get better.
I think it is time to pray, don’t you?
it but the x-rays proved him correct, my foot was broken. Things get broken all the time. A dish slips from our fingers, a
bottle is dropped from our hands, sit in an old chair and it finally gives way. Some things can be fixed while others can
not. Look at our nation. We were once great, but are we any more? Look around, our economy is bad, we have had
hurricanes that destroyed homes, same with the floods. So what happened to our nation? And more importantly, is it
fixable? Yes, it is fixable but only with God’s help. But God will not help unless we get serious and pray. Most of us are
familiar with the verse 2 Chronicles 7:14:
“If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face
and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land”.
But how many of us are as familiar with Ezekiel 9: 4-6:
“And the Lord said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the
foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in the midst of it. And to the
others He said in my hearing, Follow [the man with the ink bottle] through the city and smite, let not your eye spare,
neither have any pity. Slay outright the elderly, the young man and the virgin, the infant and the women; but do not
touch or go near anyone on whom is the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.”
Most of us know this passage goes along with the book of Revelation, but my point is that God expects His people to
stand in the gap and pray. Remember the judgment was to BEGIN AT MY SANCTUARY. That’s the church. That is you
and I. And we are not just to pray but sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in our land. You may
ask what abominations has our nation committed? What about the 50 million babies sacrificed to the god of
convenience? What would our founding fathers think of that? Our nation was founded on God’s Word. And to think
that now several states have had to amend their state constitutions to say that marriage is only between a man and a
woman proves that homosexuality has grown to gigantic proportions. What about the murders that take place everyday
in this land? And all the gang wars in every major city.
It is so bad that people hardly blink at the crime that goes on throughout this nation. You may be thinking you’re pretty
good if you have never done any of these things, but what about the lies you have told? You may not break into
someone’s home, but did you take a pen or paper clips home from your office? God sees ALL the things we do and I
believe he is grieved over them. If we want our nation to get well, then we need to fall on our knees and ask God to
forgive us from our own sins and the sins of our nation. It is time we cry out to God with a broken and contrite heart just
as Nehemiah did when he prayed in Nehemiah 1:5-7:
“And I said: “I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with
those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You
may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before you now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants
and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Yes, I and my father’s house have
sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, statutes, and ordinances
which You commanded Your servant Moses.”
Nehemiah was a righteous man but begged God’s forgiveness for him and his nation, Israel. We must do the same. We
have always had God’s blessings on our nation, but how can He bless us when such wickedness prevails throughout our
land? My foot is going to heal, but unless we in earnest seek God and pray, our nation will NOT get better.
I think it is time to pray, don’t you?
| BROKEN BY JULIE ANNE HOOD |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Psalm 34:18 (NIV) The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. |