Y'ALL PRAY FOR US!

It was Sunday morning in a small church in the south. About a hundred or so people were present to hear the Word of God, sing His praises and have fellowship together. Little six-year-old Tommy Jackson was full of vim and vinegar, squirming when he should be sitting and jabbering when he should be quiet. Pastor's sermon that day was on prayer and it was appropriate, for Tommy's Mom and Dad had been praying for him to be quiet all morning. But to no avail. Tommy would not sit still and would not be quiet.

Finally during the offering Tommy dropped a hymnal on the floor with a loud bang and he blurted out. "Damn!" His mortified Dad grabbed him by the seat of his pants, tossed him over his shoulder and headed down the aisle for the back door. Everyone, Tommy included, knew what was coming next. Just as he disappeared out the door, Tommy said loudly, "Y'all pray for us!"

It's time to pray for our country. We've been acting out and irritating each other when we need to be quiet and hear the voice of God. The economy has had us squirming and the election has had us jabbering nonsense. In general, we've become immature children who need to be taken to the woodshed. What we really need is to sit still and to pray for each other and for our country.

"Y'all pray for us!" I was encouraged last Sunday when my pastor, an Air National Guard chaplain, prayed for our president-elect. I know he didn't vote for him, but that didn't stop him from leading us in prayer for him. I was encouraged by several articles in the newspaper which told of churches praying for our nation and all its leaders. But besides prayer, I believe our elected officials need to be taken to the woodshed. Never have I seen so much self-centeredness and foolish talk coming from the mouths of those who should know better.

"Y'all pray for us!" Yes, pray a lot, and to the True God, not some idea that blends all gods into one. Pray for our nation and our leaders to grow up and stop acting like selfish children. Pray for churches to lead according to God's Word and not the latest opinion poll. Pray for courts to stop treating humans like throw-aways. Pray for the family to be protected from those who would destroy it. Pray for our soldiers to defeat the enemy and come home. Pray for youth to grow up and be the responsibile adults so many of us have failed to be.

"Y'all pray for us!"