Don’t Ignore the Greatest Force in the Universe
In his Book of Facts, Isaac Asimov (Professor of Biochemistry and prolific author) made an amazing statement about the ancients of the Mediterranean world. He noted that neither Herodotus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, nor Archimedes knew anything about tides. This is because the Mediterranean Sea is almost devoid of tidal movements. They vary only by a few centimeters and go unnoticed. In fact, the first Greek writer to even mention tides was the explorer Pytheas, who navigated through the North Atlantic in 270 BC.
This ignorance of such a major force on earth had dire consequences for Julius Caesar when he invaded Britannia. For he lost a number of ships due to the tides. Caesar beached his ships at low tide to disembark his forces on the British shore. Many of those same ships floated away when the tide came in. To us, it seems incomprehensible that a leader of Caesar’s caliber could fail to take into consideration a force as universal as the tides.
Yet, many world leaders today make life and death decisions, which will affect millions, without considering the greatest force of all. Presidents and prime ministers make world-altering decisions without giving God a thought. They never seek the wisdom and guidance which God offers freely. Instead, every decision flows wholly from concerns for political advantage and media response. And some leaders only allow godless ideologies to guide them. All such leaders who ignore God are fools.
Even a man like Benjamin Franklin, not known for his piety, acknowledged the need for God’s guidance in America’s decisions. During the nation’s Constitutional Convention of 1787, when politicians were divided over how the states were to be represented in Congress, Benjamin Franklin advised that prayers be offered on behalf of their efforts. Larger states like Virginia and New York believed that they should have greater representation in Congress. Smaller states like Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Delaware, believed that all states should be represented equally.
Members of the convention were deadlocked on the matter, when, on June 28, 1787, Benjamin Franklin issued this impassioned plea. “In this situation of the Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights (James 1:17) to illuminate our understanding?
I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth – that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice (Matthew 10:29), is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that “except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it (Psalm 127:1).” I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better that the Builders of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9): We shall be divided by our partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages.
I therefore beg leave to move – that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service.”
Franklin’s motion was seconded, but never voted on. But the 81-year-old statesman had certainly pointed the way. So much so that, a few days later, George Washington, led the assembly to a 4th of July prayer service at Philadelphia’s Reformed Calvinist Lutheran Church. There the pastor, Rev. William Rogers led the delegates in a prayer for God’s blessing and guidance on the convention. His heavenly petition became known as “the prayer that saved the Constitution.”
As a result, the assembly was able to hammer out a solution. They decided to divide Congress into two houses – the House of Representatives where representation was based on the size of a state’s population – and the Senate where representation was equal. And, since 1789 to the present, prayers have opened both houses of Congress.
Our leaders are in need of God’s help and guidance as never before. And our nation is desperately in need of prayer – prayer for a great spiritual awakening that will alter our downward course and turn us to God in faith and repentance. Please join me in prayer for our nation and its leaders. We cannot afford to ignore the greatest Force in the universe.
PRAYER: Almighty and merciful Father, when You exiled Your people to Babylon, You commanded them to seek the peace and well-being of that wicked city. You told them to pray to You on its behalf. For, You explained, “in its peace you will have peace” (Jeremiah 29:7). You told them they would share its fate, whether curses or blessings.
Therefore, O God, we pray for the United States of America. Please guide our leaders in government. Open their blind eyes to their need for Your help and salvation. Give them heavenly wisdom to solve America’s complex problems.
Please bless and save our troubled land. By your Holy Spirit, breathe a mighty revival across America and bring us to Jesus Christ in faith and repentance. Cleanse and transform our sinful hearts, fill them with Your love, and turn us to each other in love and reconciliation.
Bless America, O God, heal our divisions, and mend our every flaw. Redeem our government and fill its ranks with men and women of God. Redeem our schools and universities and fill its faculty with Spirit-led professors and teachers. Redeem our businesses and financial institutions so that they’ll deal honestly and compassionately with their customers and employees. And redeem our entertainment industry and fill it with gifted and talented witnesses for Christ.
Please raise up men and women of God to lead our nation on the path of righteousness. Raise America to true greatness, we pray, and use it as Your instrument of the Gospel throughout the world. In Jesus’ holy name we pray, Amen.
(Information from: Isaac Asimov, Isaac Asimov’s Book of Facts, p. 32; http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/our-solar-system/37-our-solar-system/the-moon/the-moon-and-the-earth/33-does-the-mediterranean-sea-have-tides-intermediate; https://www.faithgateway.com/the-prayer-that-saved-the-constitution/#.YR7NrI5KhaQ; https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS20427.pdf)
