Proverbs 14: 34-35
“Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.
The king’s favor is toward a servant who acts wisely,
But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.”

As we set aside tomorrow as the National Day of Prayer, it is timely to be reminded of this quote from one of our Founding Fathers, Patrick Henry:

 
“Righteousness alone can exalt America as a nation. Reader! Whoever thou art, remember this; and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others… The great pillars of all government and social life: I mean virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible.”

Undoubtedly Patrick Henry’s most memorable spoken words were, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” But, in fact, Henry cared much more about being remembered for the 1765 Virginia Stamp Act Resolves which he penned, setting up the colonies for Independence. His speeches and correspondence were full of Scripture. The opening phrase from the quote above was taken from Proverbs 14 and was addressed to future Americans. He embraced what the Bible said that “righteousness exalts America,” but he also knew that righteousness wouldn’t come naturally to men, and apart from God we have no hope of being righteous. Being fully aware of this, he and the other Founding Fathers founded a nation that would be governed in a new way, one where the government would be beholden to the people rather than people beholden to the government, with God as the final authority. Oh, how we have strayed from that original intent! How can we hope to return to our Founding Fathers’ vision for America? It begins with prayer; tomorrow’s devotion will offer guidelines to help you. May I encourage you to set aside the day, or an hour, or a few minutes tomorrow to pray for our nation.

Dear gracious and merciful God, we the people of these United States, have walked in ways that are not pleasing to you. Patrick Henry’s words are prophetic and we must listen up! Righteousness, through Christ Jesus, is the only way we can restore our nation to “we the people.” As we set aside tomorrow as a day of prayer for our nation, convict us we pray, O Lord, of our sin and help our nation return to the vision our Founders had in mind, where the government is beholden to the people with You as the final authority. We ask in Jesus’ righteous name. Amen.