Gather together, gather together, O shameful nation, before the appointed time arrives and that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD's wrath comes upon you.

Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what He commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD's anger.

Zephaniah 2:1-3, NIV (1978)

One cannot help but look at the events of our nation in recent years and be very concerned. Those who consider themselves patriots are beside themselves when they consider all that has been done to this once great nation. The saddest part is that the most concerning things are those which are taking place from within, rather than some pernicious enemy from a foreign land. 

Consider the following things from a factual basis. I realize that many conspiracy theories can be made as to why these things are happening, and some of these theories do indeed involve people who are really involved in conspiracy, but examining the facts without delving into motives should be enough to make the point on its own. So, here are three areas which everyone will agree are causes of concern, even if they do not agree on the specific sources the problems.

First, the last three years have been filled with health problems that are above and beyond anything we have dealt with for most of our lives. It is a fact that American government agencies were involved in developing diseases in a foreign lab, and it is a fact that they were involved in a suppression of this fact from ever coming out. And millions of people have now died from a disease that is quite similar to the one they were developing.

Second, our borders are so wide open that millions of people are now in our nation that do not have the legal right to be here. Most are not criminals, but some are, and the ones that are not have overwhelmed our resources to the point that there is now a crisis. Those who are in charge of enforcing the laws are often the very ones assisting these people in breaking the laws. Further, they are stopping anyone who tries to do something about it. Imagine your house being broken into and some of your family having been beaten, molested and even killed. When you contact the authorities, you find out that they are turning a blind eye. Then, when you try and put up stronger doors to keep these criminals out, the police come and knock your doors down and then threaten to arrest you for even trying to keep the assailants out.

Third, many of our school systems are now accommodating people with X Y chromosomes sharing bathrooms and shower facilities with people who have X X chromosomes. Many school boards have gone along with this practice. Some of the parents who have complained to the school boards have been arrested and placed on terror watch lists.

We could go on and on, but the point is there: We have serious problems within our nation right now. So, what do we do? Is there anything we can do?

When our nation was starting out, the people faced problems which were just as serious. Their response should be of interest to us if for no other reason than it seemed to work. The men and women of that era prayed. And they didn't just pray for rescue from their enemies and relief from their problems. They first prayed for forgiveness. And they did so on a national basis. They called for days of repentance and fasting and prayer. You can still see the articles and ads in the newspapers of that time that announced these special days. There were many proclamations made in congress that called for these days of national prayer. Even Benjamin Franklin encouraged the Constitutional delegates to go back to praying on a daily basis, just as they had done during the days of the Revolution.

But if none of this convinces us as to the absolute necessity of repentance and prayer, then let the Word of God do so. In the passage quoted above we see God's prophet warning the people to leave their shameful ways and turn to God before it was too late. And it worked whenever the people of God actually did repent, because God has always preferred repentance that leads to forgiveness over punishment. But the patriots of their day had to turn to God before their nation could avoid the punishment, as did the patriots of our own nation over two centuries ago. Both sets of people could teach us an important lesson for our day, if we would just listen. And what is that lesson?

Before you can be a patriot who takes part in effective change for your nation, you have to first be a servant of God. For our nation of would be patriots, we are going to have to first repent and plead with God for forgiveness, before we can ever hope to have Him intercede for the country that we love. Otherwise, the country will not be worth saving no matter how many self-deluded patriots we might have who would prefer it otherwise.

Maybe it's time for a national day of repentance and prayer of our own. Perhaps it could start with us.