George Washington (Founder of our country): “Bless O Lord the whole race of mankind, and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and Thy son, Jesus Christ.”
Patrick Henry: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Abraham Lincoln (16th president): “It is the duty of nations as well as of men to won their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history: that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.”
56 men signed the Declaration of Independence and each one knew, when they signed their name, that they were risking everything, including their lives. Will we not stand for truth that it might prevail and that God may become King and Ruler of Hampton Roads and of America?
Bill Bright says, “From the days of Columbus on, God used great care in forming the United States of America, creating us to be a worldwide influence.” The New England Confederation proclaimed in 1643 said: “We all came to these parts of America with the same end and aim, namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
When the Jamestown settlers stepped ashore, they immediately planted a cross and claimed the land for Christ. Governor William Bradfore in referring to the pilgrims’ mission in the new world said this, “They cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations, or at least making some ways toward it, for the propagation and advance of the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work.”
The Mayflower Compact of 1620 declares that the Pilgrims came to advance the Christian faith for the glory of God. They believed they were part of God’s plan to raise up a nation from which they and their descendants would not only enjoy the blessings of a new land with religious and political freedom, but also touch the world with the Gospel.
The Puritans had made a covenant with God and understood the powerful significance of this. Winthrop said, “Thus stands the cause between God and us. We are entered into covenant with Him for this work. We have taken out a commission . . . But if we neglect to observe those articles, and dissembling with our God shall embrace the present world and prosecute our carnal intentions, seeking great things for ourselves and our prosperity, then the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us, and be avenged of a perjured people, and He will make us know the price of such a breach of such a covenant.”
God’s blessing comes with a purpose. “We as a nation seem to have forgotton that life is more than a series of causes and effects. Just as there is a goal, a destination to which God is ultimately leading each individual, God also has a specific and definite goal for each nation. Throughout American history, we see dramatic evidence of God’s hand molding and shaping this nation into a vessel He can use.”
Like our forefathers, we must fight for our nation and claim it for God. We can no longer let the devil take our country. It is time for intercessors to arise in believing prayer and take back this nation for God. We need to cry out that His destiny for America will come to pass. We need to pray that we will be a blessing to the nations of the world.